Through the Frosted Glass & What Alyce Found There
by Saiyu
Summary: Who is this woman, who has stepped inside the Looking Glass? Who is 'The White Queen? Full Summary Inside - Sequel to Alyce in Mutant Land.
1. Chapter 1

**"Through the Frosted-Glass, and What Alyce Found There"**

_Summary: _

_Who is this woman, who has stepped inside the Looking Glass? Who is '__The White Queen"? The longer she stays, the faster the school falls apart. Soon, an all out Civil War breaks within the school. Tearing apart teams, lovers, friends and family. Once again, Alyce steps into Mutant Land, to unravel the mystery behind The White Queen._

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_

_Prof. Jean Grey 11/05/09. Arch.01287. - '__None of us are really sure where she came from. She was unfamiliar, but familiar at the same time. Her blond hair falling down to her shoulders, her blue eyes looking for danger. But, The Professor was a kind man, and he brought her into the Mansion. She is dangerous...this woman. This woman only known as Emma Frost.'-_

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**Chapter 1**: Modern Day Zombie Horror

It was a typical Monday morning at the Xavier Mansion. Kids of all ages pushed themselves out of bed, dreading the long, slow day that awaited for them. They shuffled to the showers, got dressed and shuffled through the halls. Everyone was a mindless zombie. Especially at 8 o'clock in the morning. The sun shown dull, barely illuminating the zombies that walked about. One of those zombies being Alyce Red.

Still groggy, this girl named Alyce walked to her class, her feet dragging on the floor. Her long black hair was loose, neatly tucked behind her ears. Her sleepy eyes only looked awake because of the concealer that was under them. Alyce had her extremely girly cousin, Bella, to thank for looking pretty this morning. If it wasn't for her, Alyce was sure she would look even more like something out of a horror film. Alyce turned into her class room, groaning her greeting to Ororo Munroe. She lifted her messenger bag over her head, and threw it on her desk, plopping herself down in her seat. With a blank look over her face, her icy blue eyes glazed over, Alyce took on glance at the board and groaned. She slammed her head down on her desk, ignoring the pain that radiated through her forehead.

She still had a few minutes to nap. Alyce was always early to class. When she first started here, which had been about four or five months ago, she would get to class half an hour early. But as the months progressed, half an hour turned into twenty five minutes, which turned into fifteen, which turned into ten. She was never, _ever_ late though. She liked to claim her infamous corner seat, all the way in the last row. Alyce sighed out, hearing Ms. Monroe begin to write something on the board. Which meant class was starting in about five minutes.

No sleep for her.

Alyce sat up, pulling out her Science notebook and flapping it down on her desk. She stuck her pen in her mouth and sat, waiting for the rest of X-Men to shuffle into class. She had been on the team for months now, the same boring routine happening every day, Monday through Friday. The only thing really different, was that her cousin, Bella, was the only human on the team. In fact, the only human in the entire school. The only reason she had come here, was to sit by Alyce's bed side, months ago. When Alyce had gotten ambushed in a movie theater by a lava-making mutant. Boy, was _that _fun. She had been knocked out for a week straight, her cousin only coming at first, to watch over her as she recovered. But days turned into weeks, weeks turned into a month and before anyone knew anything, Bella was in their lives.

Where was Bella now? Even though the two cousins shared the same room, Bella would refuse to wake up when Alyce did. She would often run into the class half an hour late. Everyday, Monday through Friday.

The second to drag themselves to class was none other than the short Kitty Pryde. The girl who could phase threw anything. Alyce had yet to see her fail at it, either. Kitty smiled to Alyce, and sat down in her seat, taking out her phone and beginning to text. It wasn't a no-brainer who she was texting at this ungodly hour. Her boyfriend from The Brotherhood, Avalanche. Alyce signed, pretending to be enthralled with the spirals on her notebook, hoping Kitty wouldn't shove the phone in her face. Despite Kitty's frivolous texting, the two had learned to get close.

The third person to walk inside the class was The Rajin' Cajun', known as Remy Lebeau. His hair was messy and unkempt, but he still managed to look handsome. He walked past Alyce, ruffling her hair, and sitting down in the seat beside her. Not caring that class was about to start, he plopped his head on the table and pulled his jacket over his head. In about two seconds he was already snoring lightly. New word around the Mansion, Remy was finally single. He had dropped his long time, on and off again girl friend, Jubilation Lee. Remy was now flirting with Bobby's girl, Rogue, like mad. And it was driving Bobby crazy.

Speaking of the two, Bobby and Rogue walked together into the class. They smiled happily at everyone and sat down in their seats. Why was it only Remy and Alyce that were sleepy this morning? Rogue had made it this ritual, where every Wednesday after lunch, she would sit with Alyce and ask her what to do about Remy. Alyce always shrugged at the question, but tried to give her the best advice that she could. Besides, Bobby_ still _secretly hated Alyce. Why should she help him?

turned around smiling to everyone and clasping her hands together. She greeted Piotr Rasputin as he walked into the classroom, his sketch book in his hand. He turned and raised an eyebrow at Alyce, and she knew what it meant. Monday signaled a new week, which meant a new drawing tournament. Alyce and Piotr rarely talked to each other using words. But with pictures and art instead. Alyce never had a chance to thank him for that. Ever since they had started doing that, Alyce was able to draw new things everyday. Before it was hard for her to even finish a picture. The tournament started by accident when Kurt Wagner, the art teacher, had mentioned that Alyce's picture looked better than Piotr's. The next day, Piotr had drawn a better picture, the next Alyce. And so on.

Jubilation Lee walked in, quickly avoiding the closing door. She said hi to no one and sat in her seat. Ever since Remy had dumped her, her personality had changed 100%. She wasn't the mean girl anymore, and had actually apologized to Alyce about all of the old pranks she used to play on her. Alyce just liked to think she was high that day. _Very_ high. Jubilee used to be popular based on the standards in this school. Every girl liked Remy and wished they were his girlfriend. When the two went out, she was the envy of every girl in the Mansion. But now, they all looked at her, snickering. Alyce even felt sorry for her.

John Allerdyce had stopped the door with his hand, as began to close it. He stepped in, looking tired. But that was the normal. He was always tired. Maybe it was just an elaborate ruse he used. He was the only one out of the entire class, that never got caught for sleeping through a lesson. And he was _always_ sleeping. He gave Alyce a meek smile, and placed a kiss on her forehead before sitting down. It wasn't anything new that the two had been going out.

"Since our lovely, Miss Bella Garland is late, like usual, let's get into the lesson!" Ororo picked up her science text book and flipped it open, signaling everyone else to do the same. She began talking about ionic bonds when the door to the classroom bursted open, Bella huffing.

"I'm here. I'm early!"

shook her head, smiling. "Actually, Bella...." She checked her watch and smiled again, trying to hold back a laugh. "You're five minutes late. At least it's not thirty minutes...."

Bella huffed, checking her watch and glaring at ._ At least it's not thirty minutes. _But she couldn't help that the beds in the Mansion were super comfy. As soon as she would lay down, Bella found herself snoring in under a matter of seconds. Feeling defeated, Bella walked to her seat, but not before giving a Kitty a thumbs up. The two had been talking about a double date for ages. And it looked like today was the day it was going to happen.

Bella had been dating another member of the Brotherhood, Pietro Maximoff. How did _that_ happen? It would simply be too long to explain. Bella looked back at Alyce and winked, and Alyce shook her head. Both Kitty and Bella had been trying to get Alyce to bring John along on their date. But there was no way she was going to do that. Pietro and John didn't like each other much. If Alyce _did _have to go to the Brotherhood, it was mainly to hang out with Wanda and Blob. How did _that_ come about? An X-Men hanging out with The Brotherhood? It would be too long to explain. Really, it would.

Alyce opened up her text book and her notebook, already jotting down notes. She yawned, rubbing her sleepy eyes. It was just another normal Monday morning here at the X-Mansion. Another normal Monday morning for the X-Team. Another normal Monday morning for Alyce Red.

_____

A/N: :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**: Crank

Alyce didn't feel like eating this burger. Any other day she would have, but today she just couldn't bring herself to eat it. This was the first time, Alyce had to say, that the food at the Mansion didn't look so tasty. Alyce peeled back the bun on the burger and looked at the meat. It was _still_ red. Alyce shuddered and pushed her plate away from her, deciding that a bottle of soda would have to do for lunch.

"Just get the salad, Alyce. It's good for you, Alyce. Now look. I told you so." Bella sat down across from her cousin, giving Alyce a toothy smile. When Bella had first came to the Mansion, everyone thought she was Alyce's girlfriend. Then when they heard that they slept in the same room, even the same bed, everyone was pretty much convinced. There was no way a bright, cheerful, blond haired Bella was even _remotely_ related to the dark haired, pessimistic Alyce. But they all shut up, when they found out that they were, indeed, related. Around the Mansion, boys sulked upon hearing this. Their fantasies ruined.

Bella opened up a packet of dressing and emptied it out on her green salad. "Why don't you just make yourself another burger?" Bella asked as she stabbed her salad with her fork.

"I just lost my appetite is all..." Alyce sighed. She sipped her soda. True enough her powers did let her make anything she could fathom up. All she had to do was think about it, and she could make it. But right now, eating wasn't on her agenda anymore. Also, she could've_ sworn _she saw the burger move.

The cafeteria of the Mansion was huge. Rounded tables were placed all around. Lining the walls were different types of vending machines. The sun shone bright inside, due to the massive glass window that lay across one of the walls. Outside, more students sat eating their lunch. Some playing football, or Frisbee. Others sat reading or writing, or just catching up on homework for the next period of class. When the sun was beginning to set and students flocked to grab dinner, the cafeteria was still lit up by massive fluorescent lights. Outside as well. It really looked more like a gigantic restaurant than a school cafeteria.

The chatter of the students hummed in Alyce's ears, causing her to zone out. Bella looked at Alyce with a curious gaze. She took a sip of her juice and settled down her fork.

"Alyce...." Bella spoke, looking as her cousin still sipped her soda. Rolling her eyes, Bella leaned over the table and snapped her fingers in front of Alyce's face.

"What?" Alyce asked, pushing Bella's hand out of her face. "Your hands smell like Italian Dressing."

"No, they don't." Bella wrinkled up her nose, sniffing her hand. There was nothing wrong with her hand. In fact, she smelled pretty good. She always did. Bella pulled back her honey blond hair and continued to eat her salad.

Bella looked up from her bowl, her green eyes scanning the cafeteria. "Where's everyone else?" She asked, referring to the rest of the X-Team. They had always ate together. Every meal, actually. It was weird at first for Bella. They were always together. In class, outside of the Mansion, in their spare time. But when it came to being in the Danger Room, Bella noticed that none of them ever worked together like they did when they were somewhere else. She couldn't count the times she had bursted out laughing, as she watched them from the overhead booth.

Alyce shrugged her shoulders. Always a girl of few words. She shook her empty soda bottle, and Bella watched as more soda suddenly appeared in the bottle, sloshing around. "I saw Rogue and Kitty getting lunch, as for the boys I don't know where they are...."

"Boys will be boys. They're all outside playin' football."

Alyce looked up and smiled at Rogue. She took a seat next to Alyce, and Kitty plopped herself next to Bella. Alyce watched as the two began to talk about their boyfriends and Alyce rolled her eyes. She already knew Pietro was cute, or how 'Avalanche did this thing' whenever he was mad. Alyce looked over to Rogue, who was also eating a salad.

"Maybe we should go bring the guys something? They're stomachs are going to be loud in the next class."

Rogue chuckled at Alyce's comment. She shook her head. "They need ta' learn, don't they? Hey, can 'ah ask ya' something?"

"Sure, what's up?"

Rogue put down her fork and looked over at Kitty and Bella to make sure they were busy. She looked up at Alyce and blushed, pushing back the white strands away from her face. "'Ah know it isn't Wednesday and all, but, Remy asked me out again today."

Alyce chuckled. Remy was persistent. "Doesn't he do that everyday?"

"Yea, but, today it was in front of Bobby. 'Ah really felt bad." Rogue quickly glanced back at Kitty and Bella, the two of them eating. She picked up her fork and leaned on Alyce with a smile. Alyce pondered for a few minutes. She knew what Remy had up his sleeve, he had told her some time ago that he was going to make Rogue his. No matter if she was still with Bobby.

"Remy isn't going to give up, Rogue. You're in for a rough school year..." Alyce looked at Rogue with a smile, tilting her head over to Bella and Kitty. "_I can't tell you anything else because of them..."_ The gesture spoke.

Rogue nodded her head. "_Ah totally get it..." _ She began to pick at her food, eating it lightly. She suddenly stopped and got up from her seat.

"Let's go outside....let's go show the boys how football is done." Rogue smiled and Alyce, who knew she was going to comply. Alyce got up from the table, looking to see if Bella would come. But her and Kitty still sat, looking up to Rogue and her like they were aliens.

"What's wrong, Bella? I thought you liked throwing the ball at John?" Alyce spoke. Bella and John couldn't be together for more than a few minutes before some sort of bickering would start. Bella looked at Alyce and crossed her arms, huffing.

"He put jelly in my bra again....If I go out there, then I'm going to kill him." The two were always pranking each other. Sometimes even getting others involved. And when they did, their plans always backfired.

Alyce tried her best to stop the laugh from coming out of her mouth. But she couldn't hold it in. "Ok, then..." Alyce laughed at her cousin, whose face was red. She waved off to Kitty and Bella, and followed Rogue to the trash cans.

"Jubilee is sittin' by herself again...." Rogue nudged Alyce as she placed her tray on the conveyor belt. Alyce looked around, her eyes falling on Jubilee. She sat by herself, drinking a milkshake, looking outside the window.

"We used ta' talk all the time, now she won't even look at me..." Rogue sighed.

"Hmmm, maybe we should invite her to Football?" Alyce suggested taking a step forward. Rogue stopped her, a gloved hand on her arm. She shook her head.

"Ya' know she isn't going to come. She doesn't like bein' around Remy anymore."

"I'm only doing it to be nice. No one talks to her like they used to. She still is part of the team." Alyce walked near Jubilee's table and sat down. Jubilee glared at her and rolled her eyes looking the other direction. Alyce smiled and leaned her head on her hand.

"Want to come play football?" Alyce asked.

"No."

Well that went well. Alyce sighed. "Look, I was like you once. When I first came here, all you did was prank me. Everyone didn't like me because of_ you_. I know how it feels to be where you are now."

"So, what, are you going to be my new best friend? Get out of my face, Alyce."

Alyce raised her eye brows. This girl was difficult. Maybe there was a reason for the way she was? It could be a possibility, Alyce didn't know anything about her life before she had came to the Mansion. Alyce tapped her hands on the table and got up, shaking her head to Rogue. She was getting ready to leave when Jubilee stopped her, placing a hand on her arm.

"Hit Remy for me, will you?" She asked, not looking up.

Alyce smiled. It was a start. "I'll try, no guarantees."

*

*

Alyce was running as fast as she could, the foot ball tucked underneath her arm. Rogue ran up to next to her, and motioned for her to throw the ball. She dodged Remy and ran a few more yards, looking ahead as the massive Piotr stood in her way.

Alyce threw the ball over to Rogue, skidding to a halt. But Piotr still picked her up in his arms. Alyce laughed, and watched as Rogue ran to the finishing line. "GO!" Alyce cheered, falling back down to the floor as Piotr let her go to chase after Rogue. Alyce chased after him, trying to get in front of him, but he just wasn't going to let that happen. Alyce had to back up her only team mate.

It was four against two, and so far, the girls were winning. Whether if the boys were letting them win, Alyce had no idea. But they were kicking ass. Alyce huffed, finally managing to run past Piotr. She sprinted toward Rogue, pushing John out of the way with a laugh. He tripped over his foot and fell on the ground, a slew of curses coming out his mouth. He was going to get Alyce back for that.

"Rogue...pass..._pass_!" Alyce huffed, clapping her hands. Rogue did so, getting tackled to the ground by none other than Remy Lebeau. Alyce wasn't an accomplice to this. Or maybe she was? Alyce ran to the goal line, almost getting there, when Bobby pushed into her. He grabbed the ball out of her hands, and turned around, throwing it high. Alyce watched as Piotr caught it and he made his way toward the goal.

Alyce placed her hands on her hips, catching her breath. "That was foul, Bobby Drake." She smiled at Bobby.

"Next time, look out...." Bobby wiped the sweat off his brow with his shirt. Alyce watched as his eyes fell upon Remy, lifting up a giggling Rogue into his arms. Bobby looked at Alyce and shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes I feel like I should let Remy win."

Alyce wiped her forehead with her sleeve, giving Bobby a sad look. He kicked at the grass and sighed. "Don't get discouraged, Bobby." Alyce softly said to him, not knowing what else to say. She patted his back, feeling the heat coming off of his body from the running. Bobby nodded to her and began to make his way back inside the Mansion, leaving Rogue with Remy.

"Hey!" John called out, his face angry. He stomped his way toward Alyce, who looked at him with a grin. "You think that was funny?"

Alyce hopped back a few steps, laughing. "I think it was _hilarious_." She mocked him, deciding when she should run off. John got close to her and Alyce hopped around, dodging his attempts to grab her.

"Next time we play, I'm going to knock you down. I'm not going to hold back just because you're a girl."

"I never said you had to! I'd like to see you try, though!" Alyce giggled, still dodging John's grabs. John stood still, nodding his head and looking at Alyce with a mischievous look. Alyce stopped hopping around and stood still, feeling bad.

"Ok..._maybe _I'm sorry...." She took a step close to her boyfriend, ready to place a small kiss on him but he stopped her.

"I'm _not_!" John laughed. He quickly wiped the sweat from his face and mushed his sweat filled hand all over Alyce's stunned face. He laughed and turned around, already bolting down the field.

But Alyce was already at his heels, yelling at him with all her might.

_____________________

A/N: Gross, John. :(


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**: Straight To Your Face

Bella didn't have to be a mutant to notice some things. She didn't need special powers to know that some of the teachers were acting funny. But apparently, you had to be a mutant to be totally clueless of what was going on. Bella tapped her pen impatiently on the side of her desk. Normally she loved History. But when it was Scott Summers teaching it, he just made it plain boring.

She shifted in her seat, a weird feeling in her body. Bella looked up, watching Scott read from the history text book. She could just tell his mind was off somewhere else, and it was justified when he put down his book.

"Just read the rest of the chapter, do the individual activity and you're free for the rest of the period."

The class hooted in cheers, and silently began their work. The faster they could finish, the faster they could get to chatting amongst themselves. Bella looked at her history book and slammed it shut. She got up from her seat and followed Scott Summers, who had left the class room.

"Mister Summers?" Bella spoke, walking up to him as he leaned on the wall, deep in thought. He looked up and smiled at her.

"Yes? Anything wrong with the lesson?"

"No..I just wanted to ask, is everything alright?"

Scott raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she was asking him. He shook his head. "Everything is fine, Bella. Why do you ask?"

Bella fiddled with the bottom of her shirt. She didn't want to sound like she was peeping at him, or something. "I just noticed a lot of the teachers have been acting weird. Like, not themselves."

Scott sighed to himself, scratching his head. He got up from where he leaned. "Nothing to worry about, Bella." He smiled, lying right through his teeth. He patted Bella's shoulder. "Just finish up your work, everything will be back to normal soon."

Bella watched as Scott walked down the hallway, turning around the corner. Bella crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. She didn't see why he had to lie. Was it something really that serious? Worry began to fill Bella's mind. Was Stryker back? She felt her heart stop, and she patted her chest with her hand. Was Alyce in trouble? Bella closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, calming her self down. She was getting ahead of herself. Turning on her heel, Bella walked back into the class room.

Alyce caught Bella's eyes, a worried look on her cousin's face. "_What happened?"_ Her eyes spoke. Bella sat down in her seat. "_I'll tell you later."_ She mouthed. Alyce nodded and went back to working on the chapter.

*

Scott never came back to class. But they couldn't leave, their next class was in the exact same room. Mathematics B with Jean Grey, a class everyone had trouble it. The only class Alyce sucked in. She was never any good with regular math, and math B was just something on an entirely new plane. Alyce wasn't exactly complaining about the missing Jean Grey, who was already late to class by fifteen minutes. She sat back in her seat, already dazing off into a new world.

John turned around in his seat, and kicked her foot. She kicked back and leaned in on her table. "To what do I owe this kick?" Alyce asked, blushing. She always got shy whenever she talked to John around the others. A lot of them always expected for the two to be lovey dovey. But that just wasn't how it was with them. They had a tough love. John thought it was cute, how shy she still got after a few months of dating. And at times he took advantage of her shy state. He relaxed his arms on her table.

"Wanna get out of here tonight?" He asked, putting on his playboy demeanor.

Alyce let out a soft laugh. "I hope you know, tonight is Bella and Kitty's double date. If they see us getting ready to go somewhere, they _will_ drag us along."

John let out a groan, letting his head fall down on her desk. Alyce wanted to ruffle his hair up, to get him angry that she had messed up about an hour of styling. But she decided not too. She sat back in her seat, catching Jubilee staring. Alyce did a double take, not sure if she was seeing correctly. But once she had looked again, Jubilee was already nose deep in her book. What was _that_ all about? Thinking nothing of it, Alyce sat back in her seat once more, playfully tapping John's foot with hers.

Bella slinked out of her seat, finally getting out of a conversation with Kitty. Boy, could that girl_ talk._ She made her way to Alyce, pulling up a nearby empty chair and sitting down. She leaned her chin on Alyce's shoulder.

"Something is wrong with everyone." Bella whispered.

Alyce shooed Bella away from her ear. "You know that feels _very _weird." Alyce patted her ear, that had just gotten whispered into. She looked over at Bella who giggled. "And what did you say?"

Bella flashed Alyce an apologetic look before continuing what she was saying. "I don't know if you've noticed, but all the teachers have been acting weird."

John lifted his head up from the desk, leaning his head on his hand. "You're just paranoid." He teased. Bella glared at John but ignored him.

"What do you mean the teachers?" Alyce asked with question. Bella shrugged. "I just noticed. I went to go ask Scott is there was anything wrong, he said no, but I could tell he was lying."

Alyce chuckled. "Maybe John is right, you are paranoid. What could possible happen that would cause the teachers to act weird?"

"Who knows! Maybe something bad is going to happen? Like killer giant robots, or the end of the world?" Bella wasn't joking either. She rested her elbows on Alyce's table and looked up to her cousin with puppy dog eyes. "Why don't you ask Auntie Lilia to read someone's mind?"

Alyce rolled her eyes. "I'm not calling Mom, and asking her to do that. We both know she's going to say no."

"Maybe Uncle J can convince her?"

"No, Bella. I'm not bothering them." Alyce looked up to the clock on the wall. "Besides, it's almost three. Last time I called at three.....I interrupted _something_...."

John was getting intrigued by this so called _something._ He nudged Alyce's arm. "Interrupted what?" He asked, his mind only thinking of perverted things. Alyce glared at him, her mind equally perverted.

"I know what you're thinking John....Bella, however, doesn't."

"So then tell me!"

"I don't think you want the image in your head..." Alyce warned. She looked at Bella, who returned her look with pleading eyes. Alyce sighed, feeling defeated. "Fine, but no freaking out, ok? It's pretty obvious, if you ask me."

Bella hated the way Alyce sometimes made her feel stupid. Is wasn't her fault she wasn't as perverted as her cousin and her boyfriend. She playfully punched Alyce's arm and glared. "Tell me."

"They were having sex, Dad was sounding pretty out of breath when he answered the phone too. 'Alyce...I'm....._busy..'_ He hung up on me too."

Bella sat back in her seat, her eyes glazed over. Her mind was still deciding if what she had just heard was really true. Then suddenly...the thoughts. The images of her Uncle and Aunt got into her head. She took in a deep breath.

"_EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW_!"

*

*

Her gloved hands guided the steering wheel of the car. She pressed her foot harder on the gas pedal, the car moving faster. She opened the windows to her car, the breeze flicking her blond hair around. She lifted one hand away from the wheel and turned on the car radio. Her blue eyes flickered to the mirror in her car and she puckered her blue lipsticked lips.

She had been iffy to put on blue lipstick, but the lady at the beauty store said it would compliment her bright blue eyes and her pale white skin. She had been right. She still looked professional enough to go where she was going. A smile appeared on her face when the view of the Xavier Mansion came too. She had called the Professor weeks ago, expressing interest for a teaching position they had open. And now she was on her way. Her trunk was filled with all her clothes, the back seat of her car filled to the top with other personal items.

Look out Xavier Mansion. Here comes Emma Frost.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**: Spellbound

Emma Frost didn't mind the stares she was receiving from the student body of the school. She was a beautiful woman, and she was planning on flaunting it. Why hide it? She flipped back her blond hair, and swished her hips as she walked. The thick silver bangles around her wrists clacking together. Her white high heels echoed on the wooden floor. Everything she wore was white, even her underwear, _if _you wanted to get _personal_ about it_._

The school was beautiful, the inside looking more better than the outside. Emma would already tell she was going to like it here. She continued to walk through the halls, giving small smiles to anyone who looked in her direction. She was going to be their teacher soon, first impressions count. She turned a corner, her gloved hand sliding against the walls. Emma stopped, looking around and figuring out that she was, indeed, lost. She let out a disappointed sigh. Guess she was going to have to use her powers. It was a shame, she wanted to find the way to Xavier's office on her own.

"_Professor Xavier? It's me Emma Frost. I'm lost."_ She chuckled in her mind, using her telepathy to reach out to Charles. She waited, leaning on the wall and taking off her white gloves. She pushed them in her pocket. It was like being on hold, much like when you used a phone. Just no music.

"_Emma! Hello, we've been expecting you. Just keep walking down the hall. I'll have Scott Summers stand right outside of my office."_

"_Thanks Professor.."_ Emma smiled to herself as she continued to walk down the hall, the students thinning out as they walked into their class rooms. At the end of the hall, Emma spotted a rather handsome looking man. She jogged up, slowing down as she got closer. She placed her hands on her hips and stuck her waist out.

"You're Scott?" She asked, giving him a flirtatious smile. The shades were a nice touch to him, made him look mysterious.

"Yes. It's nice to meet you, Emma." He stuck out his hand and gave her a smile. She took his hand into hers and squeezed gently, moving in close.

"Nice to meet _you."_ She smirked, letting go of his hand and walking inside the office. She smiled, looking at all the teachers that stood in front of her.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Emma Frost. It's a pleasure to meet all of you." She waved to all of them, and walked up to Professor Xavier, shaking his hand.

"Welcome, Emma." He nodded his head, and began to go around the room with his finger, naming everyone. Her eyes, however, where only focused on one person in the room. A man called Logan. He had this rugged look to him, and his muscles where big. He had a gruffy looking short beard, and his hair was gelled up. Quiet the looker, if you were to ask her. Emma flashed him a wink, and he looked away from her, raising an eyebrow. He was going to take some work.

"If you follow me, Emma, I'll take you on the tour."

Emma nodded and followed the Professor out of the room, the rest of the teachers leaving as well. Emma was curious about what they were thinking. Time for a little evasion of privacy.

"_All white? I wonder how she keeps her clothes clean?" _

"_She's pretty."_

"_She has a big ass....boobs too." _ Emma smiled to herself, Logan was the one thinking that. The smile disappeared from her lips, when she began to read Jean's mind.

"_I hope you know, Ms. Frost, that is really inappropriate."_ Jean's voice echoed throughout Emma's brain.

"_I'm just a bit curious, cut a girl some slack."_

"_Sorry, Emma, it's the number one rule with telepaths in the Mansion. No invasion of thoughts. Period."_

Emma rolled her eyes and didn't respond back. This woman, this Jean Grey, sure was a hard up bitch. She continued to follow the Professor, turning the corner she had walked past before. She stopped really quick, and turned around. All the way down the hall Jean glared at her, Scott putting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled and waved. Her stay here was going to be fun.

*

*

"You'll have your own class to teach, which will be English, as you requested. Also, helping out in the training missions with the members of our X-Team."

Emma looked across the table to the Professor. The two had found a place outside to sit, enjoying their late afternoon lunch. "Sounds like fun. I really can't wait to start."

"Tomorrow, if you like." The Professor sipped on his tea, watching as Emma grew happy. She clapped her hands and smiled at him. "So, Emma, why don't you tell me more about your powers. I'm intrigued to hear about this diamond form you've spoken of."

Emma sipped on her iced tea. "Well, as you already know, I am a telepath. I can read minds, mind-control. I can alter the perceptions around people, even their memory. Also, what I like to call Psychic Surgery."

"Sounds interesting, what is that, may I ask?"

"When I was back home, I studied business and obtained many degrees under my belt. I hovered in the medical field for a while, and learned that I can go into someone's mind, and basically, use my powers to pin point a specific problem in the body. Like, this woman I used to work for. Her son's nervous system shut down on him, making him unable to walk. I dove into his mind, and..."

Emma trailed off not sure how to explain herself.

"I don't know, I just focused on his body, and when I was done he got up and walked!" While she talked Emma used her hands to make gestures, to explain. She was full of information.

"That is quiet the amazing feat Ms. Frost. I congratulate you. His mother must have been ecstatic."

"She was! I wish I could bring my skills to the real medical field, let myself be known. But we both know that has it's set backs."

"It does. One day, Emma. One day humans will learn to accept mutants."

Emma nodded, finishing off her tea. "My diamond form, allows me to be virtually indestructible. I can also lift heavy objects. Before I forget to mention, telekineses as well." Emma smiled and pointed to her temple. "Oh the things you can do with your mind."

The Professor laughed. "My dear, you hold extra ordinary power. It is my pleasure to have you in this Mansion."

Emma took in a deep breath, inhaling a cool breeze that had pushed by. "I love it here already. The atmosphere is calm. The kids all look wonderful."

"They are all wonderful kids. Some of them, however, can be quiet the handful. I'm sure you can deal with them just fine."

"Of course I can." Emma reassured the Professor, brushing her blond hair out of her face.

*

Emma was snacking on some strawberries, eating them awkwardly as to not get any of the juice on her white clothes. She had been walking around the Mansion, memorizing the layout as she went along. After some distance, she had finally gotten to her classroom. This was where she was going to be teaching, starting tomorrow. She smiled to herself, running her tongue along her teeth to get rid of any strawberry seeds. She balanced the carton of strawberries in one hand, and opened the door to the classroom. She looked inside, her eyes falling to the very back of the classroom. A boy sat in the back, reading a book.

"Hello...." Emma spoke, smiling as the boy looked up. She bit into another strawberry and leaned on the desk, watching as he got up.

"Sorry, are you going to be using this room now?" He asked.

Emma waved him off, holding the strawberry in between her teeth. "No, no. It's fine. My name is Emma Frost, I'm going to start teaching here, starting tomorrow. This is my classroom."

The boy sat back down in, re-opening his book. "That's good to hear. What are you going to teach?"

"English. What's your name?" Emma hopped herself up on the desk, crossing her legs.

"My name is Bobby Drake. I'm on the X-Team."

Wide-eyed, Emma looked at Bobby. Him? On the team? He looked puny. "Really! That's some good news. I'm going to be assisting in the training room sessions." Emma didn't really think it was good news, she was lying to this boy. She looked at him as began to talk about the sessions, his face plastered with a permanent sad look. What was _that_ about? She sucked on another strawberry, nodding her head, pretending to be listening. If all the kids on this team looked like this, she just wasn't even going to bother.

"What were you doing in this class?" Emma asked, cutting off Bobby in the middle of his rant.

Bobby stammered for a bit, raising his book in the air. "Just reading. It was too noisy everywhere else."

Emma smiled, knowing that in his mind he was thinking of something else. Someone named Rogue, another named Remy. Who they were, Emma had no idea. But she knew she would find out later. "No class?" She asked him.

Bobby casted his gaze to the floor. "I didn't go."

"Why not?"

"No reason, just didn't feel up to it." He gave her a nervous smile, getting up from his seat and making his way to the door. He was about to open it, when it slammed back shut. He turned to look at Emma, her hand in the air, pointing at the door. She sighed and placed the cartoon of strawberries on the table.

"I hope you don't cut _my_ class, Mister Bobby Drake...."

Bobby gulped, cautiously putting his hand back on the door. "I won't, Ms. Frost."

Emma watched as Bobby walked out of the classroom, his pace quickening as he walked down the hall. Emma chuckled softly, picking up the carton of strawberries. She looked at one, holding it by the green leafed stem.

Right now, Emma was much like this strawberry. The tiny seeds each representing each member of the X-Men, and all the teachers. She was bigger than all of them, brighter than all of them. Much like a strawberry, you were going to notice her colour first, white, before the tiny seeds. Emma let the strawberry fall to the floor. She got up from the table, and stepped down. She looked down at the strawberry and smiled, picking up her foot and smashing the tiny strawberry with her shoe.

They were going to learn to fear the White Queen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**: Cautionary Warning

The night had devoured the afternoon sun, putting the Mansion under it's dark sky. Hidden in bushes and flower beds, crickets chirped their nightly song. While the birds tucked themselves in next to their babies, ready to sleep, the Mansion was still crawling with life. On the inside that is. Outside, students sat eating dinner. Others huddled with their boyfriends, or girlfriends, and looked up into the night sky.

Alyce had just gotten out of the shower. She patted her hair with a towel, walking into her bedroom. She had snuck John into her room after Bella had finished getting ready for her date with Pietro. She had to push him inside her closet when Bella had come back inside the room, picking up her purse that she had forgotten. Bella was a bit mad at Alyce for not wanting to come on the date with John, but she wasn't going to force them. Besides, Bella wanted to actually have a nice night. Not fight with John and have him and Pietro wreck the entire restaurant. Alyce flipped her hair behind her and looked to her bed. John had sprawled himself out on the bed, taking the entire space.

"Are you sleeping?" She asked, receiving no answer, her question floating in the air. Alyce sighed and flicked her towel open, laying it her desk chair. She sat down on her bed, looking at John. He was face down on her pillow, his breathing slow. Maybe he was sleeping? Whenever Bella would leave to see Pietro, John would take it upon himself to hang out in Alyce's room. It first started with him accidentally opening the door while she was changing into her PJ's. From then on out, he would appear at the same time. Most likely hoping to catch her changing again. It never happened. But nonetheless, Alyce enjoyed the company.

"C'mon, it's 9:30, are you seriously sleeping?" Alyce asked again, this time tapping John on his shoulder. He rolled over and opened his eyes. "I wasn't sleeping. I was resting my eyes." He smiled at Alyce and lightly ran his hand over her thigh. Alyce blushed, gently dropping her head on his chest. They were growing teens, and with that came raging hormones. But not matter how much they raged, they could never do anything about it. There had been tons of story of other student couples who would try to do '_things'_ in their rooms. In two seconds flat one of the teachers would usually be there, glaring at them.

Alyce huffed, looking up at John and placing a kiss on his chin. The most that they could ever do was kiss and cuddle. And lately, it was getting to a point where it wasn't satisfying anymore. Alyce wondered how Bobby and Rogue did it for so many months. Remy was going to just as mad as Bobby in a few months. She would give him two weeks.

John placed his other hand on Alyce's hair and twirled it around his fingers. "This school blows." He murmured, causing Alyce to chuckle. He stopped playing with her hair and laid his arm out on the bed. Did the Professor honestly think that having sex on school grounds was that bad? Ok, maybe it was. John couldn't count the many times he had walked in on others kissing in the dark. It wasn't his fault he couldn't sleep at night. The thought of almost catching someone ready to do it, wasn't appealing in the least.

"How many virgins do you think are in this school? Like, honestly?"

Alyce blushed, not answering his question. Well, it was obvious he wasn't one. John looked at Alyce, wondering why she wasn't answering. Then it snapped in his head. "Wait...." He let out a chuckle, her head bouncing on his chest. "You're a _virgin_ aren't you?!" He hooted in laughter, covering his face with his hand.

Alyce blushed, burying her face into her hands. "Shut up." She chuckled along. She couldn't help it, John had a contagious laugh. He patted her back, his way of saying sorry.

Alyce sat up and gave him a firm kiss, catching him off guard. She pulled apart, an impish smile on her face. "How far do you think we can get before someone walks in?" She asked daringly. John shrugged, returning the smile.

"Is that a dare or a double dare?"

*

*

Bella sipped her wine. Three words. It . Was . Disgusting.

The only reason Kitty and Bella were even drinking wine was because Avalanche had turned 21 a few days ago. Ever since then, Kitty said, he was going everywhere flashing his ID card and feeling smug that he could now walk around with a case of beer and not get stopped by the cops. (_Which had happened on numerous occasions before_.)

Bella looked inside her glass again. She sniffed it. It smelled like fruit and she wanted so bad to like it. But once she raised the glass back to her lips the taste was just dry. The only thing it was doing was making her thirsty. She looked down at her fancy five star restaurant meal, she wanted to eat it. It looked scrumptious. But she _really_ wanted some water. She looked up over to Pietro, who sat across from her. He sipped his wine with a delicate hand. Bella bit her lip, looking back down at her glass. She wanted to impress him, and if he liked the wine then she was going to like it too.

Holding her breath, Bella picked up the glass and swallowed the contents of the cup. She swallowed and put the cup down, letting out a discrete burp. She smiled to herself, and looked over to Pietro.

"Do you want some more? You like it?" Pietro asked putting down his fork and taking the wine from the table. He opened it and poured some more into her glass.

"It taste awesome." Bella smiled. Pietro hadn't seen her amazing feat of holding it down. She could feel the wine come up her throat, but she swallowed it back down with another swig from her glass. After the third gulp, it was easier than drinking water. Bella looked over to Kitty and Avalanche. She smiled, blinking her eyes slowly. They looked so cute together. She watched as they clinked their glasses together and took a sip. It was a fun double date. Bella picked at her food, placing a few forkfuls in her mouth. Guess it was true when they said wine enhanced the flavour of food. She chewed her food slowly, picking up her glass and taking another chug of the fruity wine.

She was feeling _really_ happy. She didn't know why but she figured it had to do with spending time with her boyfriend. She hiccuped and began to giggle. Everyone at the table looked at her. _Shit._ Bella smiled and grabbed the wine bottle, Pietro placing a hand over hers and stopping her.

"Maybe you want something else to drink?" Pietro asked getting nervous. If Alyce found out Bella had gotten drunk, she was going to wring his neck. He shot a look over to Kitty. "_Help?"_ The look read. Avalanche laughed watching as Bella took Kitty's glass and began to sip from that instead.

"Bella, I thought you didn't like wine?" Kitty asked. She shrugged, shooting a look to Pietro. She never dealt with a drunk friend before.

Bella began to giggle. She got up from her seat balancing on the table. Pietro groaned getting up and looping Bella's arm around his. The two walked over to the bathrooms. Pietro was so dead. Bella wobbled on her heels, giggling as she walked. She pulled Pietro into the girl's bathroom, locking the door and wrapping her hands around his neck.

"Bella...c'mon." Pietro huffed pushing Bella back by her waist. But she still managed to attack him with her kisses. He wasn't really complaining, he just knew if Alyce found out he was done for. "You're _drunk_." Pietro spoke firmly. Bella stopped kissing him and began to laugh.

"I'm not drunk!" She giggled. "I am merely....self aware...."

_What?_

*

Kitty held open the door to the Mansion, motioning for Pietro to hurry up. For a quicker-than-lighting mutant, he sure was deathly slow. She peeped inside the Mansion, keeping a look out for anyone. She turned back to Pietro. "I can't believe she danced barefoot in the middle of the parking lot..." Kitty whispered, trying not to laugh. She just didn't want to get in trouble by anyone right now.

Pietro rolled his eyes, picking Bella up into his arms when she couldn't get up the steps. "I can't believe she threw up in _my_ car." He motioned for Kitty to close the door and the troupe walked up the stairs quietly, keeping an eye out for anyone remotely looking like Alyce.

Kitty walked up the stairs, picking up the hem of her dress. "You better get over it quick. If John, Remy or, _godforbid,_ Alyce find out you let her get drunk." Kitty huffed not wanting to think of what was going to happen to poor Pietro. "You're sooo dead, Pietro."

Pietro glared at Kitty. She wasn't making the situation any better. "Me? You're her friend. You could've put more effort into stopping her. _Oh, Bella, I thought you didn't like wine..._" Pietro mocked.

"They actually like me though. You? Not so much."

Pietro gulped. She had a point. Maybe if he was lucky, Alyce would cut him some slack. He knew her soft spots. Pietro was sure he could talk her out of hitting him. Kitty walked down the hall to the rooms, and slowly pushed the already open door. Pietro walked in, Bella in his arms bumping into something. Rather some_one._

Suddenly, the light turned on. Pietro peeked out of his eyes.

"Oh_ crap...."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**: Squeeze

Logan needed a beer. He had seen too much tonight. Not only had he walked in on Alyce and John getting ready to do the unmentionable, but as soon as he had turned on the lights Pietro bumped right into him. Bella in his arms. A very _drunk_ Bella. He had looked back at Alyce and John, then back to Pietro and Bella and sighed, leaving the room while he still had some sense of mind. He looked at soda bottle in his hands. It wasn't a beer, but it was going to have to do. Why was he always getting himself into things like this?

Logan sat back out on the benches outside. He yawned into the air and stretched out his legs. He was tired but going to bed now would only call for unwanted images. He groaned to himself, throwing his head back. He was Logan, a hard ass, gruffy, in your face kind of guy. He should be out in the world, traveling. Playing poker and getting drunk. But the Professor had him here, playing the role of guardian. Or as John called him; "The Ruiner of Lust."

Logan laughed, rubbing his sleepy eyes. Even though he wished to be out in the world, he didn't mind being here. It was nice to wake up everyday and watch the kids scramble to class. He felt like an overly protective father at times, but if that's what he had to do he was going to do it. Besides, what would he do if he couldn't bother Scott every damned hour of the day?

*

Today was a new day. Today was also the day Emma taught her first class. She smiled, looking around., noticing that her first class were the members of the X-Team. And they all looked like little twits. Each and every one of them. But of course she kept that to herself. Emma looked at her roster, reading off names and looking up as each one of them called. She called out the last name on the list.

"Bella Garland?" Emma spoke, looking around the class. "Bella?" She flashed a meek smile. "Is she not feeling well?"

"She's always late."

Emma looked up to the voice. She looked back on the list and checked for the girls name. "Alyce? It's Alyce right?"

"Yes." Alyce continued to look outside the window, thinking of other things. Tomorrow was her Father's birthday. He was turning the ripe old age of thirty four. Ok, it wasn't so old, but Alyce liked to bother her dad about his age. She had been planning on going back home for a few days now, just to be there when her disgruntled father blew out his candles. Maybe even throw a party? Alyce smiled to herself. Her father and her real mother had, had Alyce at a very young age. Both being sixteen.

"Alyce?" Emma spoke, noticing the girl had drifted off. Alyce looked up raising an eyebrow. "She's your cousin?" Emma asked.

Alyce nodded and turned her head back to look outside, pondering on what she was going to do for tomorrow. Emma looked at her with a flat look. Bella had to be the human. She had heard about Alyce and her cousin, who had been at the school for a few months. But she shouldn't be taking classes with mutants, let alone the X-Team. She couldn't do anything, she was useless as a member of this team. Why wasn't she transferred back home?

Emma sighed and turned to the board, beginning to write down the day's lesson. She was about to write her name for everyone, when the door bursted out. Emma looked over at the girl. This had to be Bella.

Bella smiled and waved to Emma, she went to walk to her seat. But Emma wasn't going to have that.

"Bella?" She called out, watching as Bella stopped mid stride. The girl turned around a confused look on her face.

"Yes?" Bella asked, feeling nervous. Was she already going to get in trouble with this new teacher?

Emma dusted the chalk from her hands and leaned on her desk. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"What are you doing?"

Bella smiled, motioning to her seat. "I'm going to sit down. I'm really sorry I was late."

"You don't belong in this class. Get out."

Everyone in the class grew quiet, a wide eyed look on all of their faces. Bella chuckled nervously, playing with her hair. "Ummm? I belong in here. My name is Bella Garl--"

"I know your name..." Emma glared. "You-don't-belong-here." She said, one word at a time. "This is a classroom for members of the X-Team. You're a human, you're usele--"

"Just shut up." Alyce suddenly shot up from her seat. John went to grab her arm, but she moved out his grasp. She walked over to Bella, who had begun to cry. Alyce wrapped her arms around her crying cousin, glaring at Emma.

"She stays where ever I am. End of story."

Emma let out a laugh. So maybe not everyone on this team was a little punk. "I'm the teacher here, _Alyce._ If you don't like it, you can get out as well. She shouldn't be in an environment like this. She's useless."

Alyce gritted her teeth. She massaged Bella's shoulders and settled her down in her seat. She motioned for Remy to look after her as she made her way over to Emma Frost. This woman who swore she knew everything. This woman who sat down with a stupid look on her face. Her stupid blond hair and white clothes.

"You just came to this school, you don't know half the shit that has happened with this team. You should learn to keep your mouth shut."

Emma smirked not responding to Alyce. She watched as another boy, John was his name?, ran up to the front of the class, holding back Alyce. Emma began to wonder how far she could push this girl, who obviously had a short temper when it came to her cousin.

"What are you going to do, Alyce, if I don't? Your cousin will be kicked out of these classes as soon as I run things by the Professor."

John pushed Alyce back, his hands on her shoulders. "Don't listen to her..." John whispered into Alyce's ear. But he already knew his tries at stopping her were in vain. By now, everyone on the team had either gone to comfort Bella, or where ready to help John hold back Alyce.

And this was _supposed_ to be a nice morning.

"Bella stays with me." Alyce growled. She pushed back up against John, wanting to get free of his grip. All she wanted to do was just show Emma a bit of her fist. No harm in that. Just a little tap. Alyce could feel the rage in her grow as she heard Bella sob. She relaxed herself in John's grip. Maybe if she could trick him into thinking she was calm he would let loose.

Emma shook her head, still leaning on the side of her desk. This was quite the scene to behold. Emma already knew Alyce wanted to hit her and she almost wanted her to do it. She looked around the room as some of the team either rushed to Bella's side or stood next to John, mainly Remy, and Piotr. Guess they really could work together.

"If you're calm now--" Emma spoke looking at Alyce with a mock smile. "--_you_ can escort your cousin out of this classroom."

Alyce lunged for Emma, her fist cocked back and ready to punch. She didn't care if this woman was a teacher, or if she was older than her. Or if she was a mutant. Alyce didn't care. She had made Bella cry. And that was enough reason to bring her fist to her face. Her fist was about to touch Emma, when someone scooped her up off her feet, picking her up by her waist and taking her out of the class room.

All the while Emma sat, the same shit eating grin plastered on her face.

*

*

"Calm down."

Alyce closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Good, now relax."

Alyce tried to clear her mind, listening as Piotr talked to her. His thick accent was oddly relaxing and it was helping her calm down. He had lifted her outside of the classroom and plopped her up against a nearby wall, shielding everything else from view with his massive body. Alyce placed her hands on his chest trying to push him off, but he held onto her firmly.

"No. You are not calm."

"Piotr, I am as calm as ever."

"No. Shut up."

A man of very, _very _few words. But Alyce found her self still complying to what he told her. Feeling defeated, Alyce let her hands drop and closed her eyes again. She still couldn't believe what had happened. This new teacher was going to be a real pain in her ass. Alyce knew for a fact the Professor wouldn't comply with Emma's empty words. He wasn't going to send Bella back home. But Alyce was positive she was going to get in trouble for almost hitting the new teacher. If she had gotten the chance too, she would've loved every last second of it. She took in another final breath and opened her eyes, looking up at Pietro. He smiled at her and patted her shoulders with both of his heavy hands. He stepped aside and Alyce got up off the wall. In a matter of seconds, however, she was up against the same wall, Bella throwing herself into Alyce's arms.

Alyce wrapped her arms around her cousin, hoping she wouldn't cry. But she did. The girl sobbed so hard that she had begun hiccuping. "Alyce, don't let her make me leave..." She sobbed. Alyce hugged onto her cousin tightly. "I don't want to be away from you again."

Alyce knew what she meant by that. She wasn't going to leave her. She had already done it twice before. "Don't worry, Bella." Alyce cooed, rocking her cousin back and forth like a little baby. Alyce looked at the door to the classroom, watching as one by one everyone left the class. They all stood next to Alyce and Bella, even Jubilee. That was surprising on it's own.

"We're not goin' 'ta go in there." Rogue murmured to Alyce. "There was no reason for her to say any of that."

"If everyone would like to think what Remy thinks, he thinks Lady _Blanche _is on her period."

Everyone giggled, even Bella who looked up and snuggled her face in between Alyce's neck. Everyone quickly stopped giggling when Emma walked outside of her class. She glared at everyone.

"Is no one going to sit and learn?" She asked, looking at everyone with a stern gaze. "Alyce are you goin-"

"Fuck off."

Alyce looked up to Jubilee, who had just cursed at Emma. _Whoa_. Go Jubilee.

"You are totally oblivious to how this team works. Get with the times, you old bitch."

_Whoa. Whoa. Whoa._

Was that Jubilee? Jubilation Lee? Sticking up for Alyce? Sticking up for Bella? No way. But Alyce was looking right at her as Jubilee gave Emma a piece of her mind. Emma looked downright stunned, the look on her face being 100% priceless. John walked up to Jubilee. He looked at her and began a slow clap. Everyone began to join in, even Alyce who was now red in the face with laughter. Emma rolled her eyes, walking back into her classroom and slamming the door.

It may have not been a nice morning. But it sure was an awesome one.

____________________

**Glossary de la Gambit**

**Blanche**- White


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**: Full Moon

Later that night, Alyce had found out that Emma was still going to be teaching the class. And as expected, Alyce was the one getting in trouble. Bella got to stay with the X-Team, something Alyce already knew. The Professor had warned Emma that if she ever talked down to Bella again, she would pay dearly. What he really meant by that, Alyce did not want to know. She was sure the Professor had a few things up his sleeve. As for Alyce's punishment? A certain Pyro couldn't be seen in her room after 8pm. But right a certain Pyro was _still _in her room. And he didn't care that it was after 8pm.

"You're going to get in trouble." Alyce muttered as she began to pick out clothes from her closet. She had told the Professor that she was going to drive down to Pennsylvania, to go visit her parents. It was a two hour drive, but if she sped up a bit she could make it in under an hour. She was going to surprise her Dad with the brand new car he had been hinting at for months. Why he didn't make it himself, she didn't know. They had exactly the same power, except he was only able to use it in the dark. When she was younger, she would call him The Boogie Man.

Alyce began to stack a few pair of jeans in her arms and walked to her bed. She plopped them down and looked back at John, who was glaring at her. She ignored him, pushing her jeans inside a large duffel bag. "You don't care that you're going to get in trouble?" She asked him once more. She stopped packing her bag and looked at him.

He still glared, glancing at her duffel bag with a distaste. "Why are you leaving me here to rot?" He finally spoke, looking annoyed. Alyce raised an eyebrow. "It's my Dad's birthday. Do you want to come?"

"No. Your dad scares me."

Alyce let out a chuckle. "He's the most sweetest guy. If you don't want to come then don't complain."

John let out a huff and reached over the bed, grabbing Alyce by her wrist and jerking her across the mattress. He wrapped an arm underneath her and placed his other arm over her chest. He interlocked his fingers, trapping her. He lowered his face down to hers, but instead of giving her a kiss, he began to lightly bite her neck. She began to squirm, fits of laughter coming out of her mouth. She kicked her feet in the air, trying to get free of his grip, but he had her held down tight.

"You're leaving me here. All alone." He spoke for a second then returned back to biting her neck.

"O---O--OK!" She managed to shout out. "I'm sorry!"

John stopped, but kept his mouth on her neck. He gently began to kiss her neck. All he wanted was to hear a sorry. And he had got one. It was nice to know he could make a tough girl like Alyce surrender so easily. He was about to kiss her lips when the door to the room bursted open. Both of them looked up, scared. Where they going to get in trouble, _again?_

"Oh, don't mind me. I only, like, sleep here too." Bella entered the room. She closed the door behind her and covered her eyes with her hand. Bella began to walk her way to the bathroom, but knocked into the bed frame. Alyce laughed, tapping John's hands so he could let her go. Reluctantly he did, and Alyce got up, following Bella as she staggered to the bathroom.

"You can stop that now."

Bella took her hand away from her eyes and smiled, opening the faucet. She ran her hands under the water and splashed her face. "So, I heard you're going to see visit Uncle James for a few days."

"Yea, I was. I wanted to surprise him. I was going to ask if you could drive on down as well, tomorrow, to surprise him too."

Bella dried her face with a towel and turned on the shower. "That sounds like a plan. How long are we going to stay for?"

Alyce peeked outside the bathroom door, throwing up five fingers to John. "_Five minutes..." _The gesture spoke. He rolled his eyes and Alyce closed the door to the bathroom. Alyce sat on the toilet, looking down as Bella began to take off her clothes. The two of them had been doing weird things like since they were young. If one of them was in the shower, and the other had something important to talk about, they would do it just like this. They had been together since childhood, they had no reason to be scared of each others naked bodies.

"I was planning on staying for about two weeks or so. I want you to come up, so you don't have to be here with that woman."

Bella stood quiet and got inside the shower, closing the curtains. Alyce bit her lip knowing that Bella was still worried about going to that class if Emma was going to be teaching it. What Emma had said, was just plain wrong. Alyce still didn't know why she had even said something remotely like that.

"Bella, you know that you'll still be with us in class? I talked to the Professor and he cleared it all up with her."

"I wasn't worried about that." Bella squeezed a massive amount of Lilac shampoo into her hand and began to wash her hair. "That woman has a personal vendetta against me. And I didn't even do anything!"

"I know, I would like to know the reason as to why she said those things myself. At least we won't be here for two weeks, so that way we won't have to deal with her."

Bella let out a chuckle. "Alyce, if I didn't stick to you like glue now, I'm going to be doing it a lot more now."

Alyce smiled. "That's fine, Bellz. I won't let her talk to you like that, again."

"Or else you'll go _grrrrrr_. You should go finish sucking face with John before you guys get in trouble."

Alyce rolled her eyes. She hated the term Bella used, '_sucking face.'_ It made her feel like a monster. Alyce got up from the toilet and was about to open the door when she suddenly remembered the events of last night. "Don't think I forgot about you getting shit-faced."

Bella stuck her head out of the curtains, her hair mopped up together with shampoo and resting on top of her head. "Let me have_ some_ fun." For a cousin, Alyce sure got over protective. But Bella didn't really mind. It was nice to know that there was someone ready to defend her at a moments notice. She stuck her tongue out and popped her head back in the shower.

"After I beat up Pietro, sure."

Bella began to sing, ignoring what Alyce had just said. Alyce laughed and opened the door to the bathroom, steam floating out. The cold air hit Alyce and she breathed it in. She smiled to John, who was covering his ears. She closed the door and made her way back to her bed, crawling over to John and sitting down next to him.

"I'm about to leave in a few." She said. Alyce slapped her hand over her duffel, and almost immediately the bag began to fill up with different types of clothes. She zippered up the bulging mass and looked over to John. He got up from the bed and took her bag with one hand.

"I'll walk you to the garage."

Alyce nodded, she looked back to the bathroom and shook her head. "Tell Bella I said goodbye ok. I'll call her tomorrow."

"No problem. Let's go."

*

*

Emma walked down into the garage. She wanted to find Alyce and apologize. Well, in all actuality, she didn't _want_ to. But the Professor had asked nicely. So she was going to comply. Emma walked around rows and rows of cars, no sight of Alyce anywhere. Had she already left? Emma sighed, stopping in her steps and looking around. That's when she finally caught a glimpse of Alyce—right in the middle of an intense make out. Emma rolled her eyes, remembering that is was the boy who had stopped her in the class that she was now making out with. No wonder he had sprung up from his seat so fast.

Emma watched them for a few minutes trying to see how far they would go. She decided to make her presence known when she saw his hand slide up her shirt. Talk about pent up sexual frustration.

"Alyce?"

The two pulled apart and Alyce turned around. She glared with her icy blue eyes and turned back to John. She gave him one last final kiss and murmured something in his ear. They locked hands for a few seconds and John walked away, also giving Emma the glare from hell.

"What do you want?" Alyce asked, turning back around and leaning on the side of her car. She placed her hands on the roof of the car and waited for Emma to answer.

"I just wanted to talk to you for a bit. Are you in a rush?"

"Actually, I am."

"Just give me two seconds?"

Alyce sighed. She nodded her head toward Emma but opened the drivers side door. "I'm listening..."

Emma smiled. "I just wanted to apologize to you about what I did to Bella this morning. I don't know what came over me."

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should be saying this to Bella. I wasn't the one who was crying."

"I was going to--"

"Don't go near my cousin. If I find out that you did, trust me when I say, I _won't_ miss again." Alyce intensified her glare, watching as Emma stammered. Alyce knew perfectly well that Emma was going to babble this to the Professor, no doubt getting her in trouble _again. _But she wasn't about to start being nice with this woman.

"Look..." Emma spoke getting frustrated. "I'm just trying to mend what I did. But if we're not going to get along then that's fine."

Alyce didn't respond. She plopped herself into the car and roared the engine to life. Emma watched as Alyce drove out of the Mansion garage, the small car disappearing on the night road. Emma smirked to herself, placing a hand on her hip.

"You're going to be sorry, Alyce."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**: Floating Museum

Alyce had abandoned the car when she started seeing familiar landmarks. She took her bag out of the car, and placed her hand on the roof. A gigantic black circle formed under the car, it bubbled and small tentacle like masses formed. Alyce took a step back watching as the tiny tentacles pulled the car deeper into the bubbling pool. Soon the car was completely gone, most likely falling somewhere in the garage. Hopefully not on one of Scott's expensive bikes. Alyce lifted her bag over head and tightened the strap.

Alyce decided that she was going to walk. As much as she wanted to make herself a pair of wings and fly there, she knew Lilia would know she was coming. Her step mother always knew when she was up to something, and Alyce wouldn't doubt that she already knew of her late night arrival. Besides, it had been ages since she walked inside the small private community. They had moved here from New York when Alyce's mutation had kicked in. And it was a good idea too. At the time Alyce didn't want to move, but she had come to realize years later it was for her own good. Where the small house was located, lay in total seclusion. For miles on each side of the house they were alone. No one had ever came to build new houses near them for years, and Alyce figured her father had something to do with that.

Alyce smiled to herself as she walked remembering when she first got her mutation. Her father had literally threw her up in the air. She remembered she had screamed so hard, you could probably hear it miles away. Everyday her father would take her outside and the two would practice working on her abilities. Lilia would often watch from the upstairs deck, sipping on her tea. Alyce couldn't wait to get to the house. She had missed them so much. It was the only time Alyce got to see her real mother as well. She had a picture of her on her bedside table. She never took it to the Mansion, in fear of Jubilee. Maybe going back, she would take it. She would ponder on it later.

*

Alyce stood across the road from her home. A few deer pranced in the woods behind the house, picking at the apple trees that Lilia had planted there. Alyce looked at the house noticing the downstairs lights were on. No doubt her father was playing video games at the hour. Lilia was probably down there with him, cheering him along. Alyce knelt down and pushed her bag into the ground, the black mass she had used before devouring her bag and delivering it to her room. She rolled up the sleeves on her jacket and quietly made her way to the paved road near the garage. She took in a deep breath and placed her hands on the floor. She dug them into the gravel and stood still. Alyce popped the picture of the car her dad wanted in her mind and slowly began to lift up her hands.

She could feel the hood of the car under her hands and she got up taking a step back. It had taken years of practice to do something this big. Alyce remembered when she had trouble making a piece of paper from her powers. It had left her exhausted. Despite the years of training, Alyce knew she was going to get shit tired when she was done making this for her father. She took a final step back pulling her hands back to her sides. The car wobbled as it settled down on it's wheels. Alyce began to check the car, making sure everything was perfect. Once she deemed it passable, she rubbed her hand on top of the car, a gigantic red ribbon forming. She had to be the best daughter in the world right now.

Now, how was she going to surprise her dad? A million ideas began to jump into her head but nothing seemed good enough. She sat down on the hood of the car, feeling woozy. She let out a tired yawn slapping her hand down on the roof of the car. Suddenly, the car roared to life, the engine revving extremely loud. She hadn't meant to do _that_. Alyce looked up, laughing as she watched her father morph through the window, Lilia jumping through the black portal as well.

James stopped in his tracks. He placed his hands over his head, his jaw dropping. There was no way _that_ car was in his driveway. There was no way his daughter was here. He had wanted this car for months, but his wife wouldn't let him make it on his own. James took a step forward, blinking to make sure that what he saw was real. He then let out a laugh.

"No fuckin' WAY!" He yelled.

Alyce smiled. "Happy Birthday Dad." She was lifted off the car by a blank tentacle and thrown into her father's welcoming arms. He squeezed her tightly and placed kisses on her head.

"No WAY! WOW!" He yelled again. He picked his daughter up and spun her around. James plopped Alyce back on her feet, ruffling her hair and looking her over. "'Sup, kiddo?" He couldn't believe Alyce had made him this. It was the best gift he had ever gotten.

"Hey, Dad." Alyce beamed like a little three year old. When she was with her father and step mother, she was an entirely different person. She acted entirely different from her Mansion counterpart. She laughed more easily, and wasn't afraid to snort when she did so. She did silly dances everywhere she walked, and would sing at the top of her lungs when she heard her favourite songs playing. Alyce took a hop back from her father, and put up her fists. She began to side step like a boxer.

"C'mon Dad. Let's see if you still got it."

James gave her a sly grin. He put up his dukes, a pair of jeans and a shirt forming around his body. He had hopped out here in his boxers in a rush, not expecting to see what he saw. He cocked back his fist and ran toward Alyce, and the two began to rough house. Lilia laughed watching as James and Alyce jumped around everywhere. The two always used their powers in the house, she did too. It was an all power free zone. The troupe never went more than three seconds without using their powers for something. Lilia yawned, still tired. She knew she would get a chance to say hi to Alyce tomorrow morning, but right now her and her father were going to be like this the entire night. Phasing in and out of the house, everything getting wrecked. But she knew in the morning everything would be back in place.

"WELCOME HOME!" Lilia yelled at the top of her lungs. She looked around wondering where the two were. She sighed, they must've been somewhere deep in the woods knowing those too. She began to walk toward the house, when Alyce flew right out of the front door. She quickly jumped down the steps and ran toward Lilia.

"Hey Mom!" Alyce huffed, placing a kiss on her Mothers cheek. Alyce gave her a quick hug, and turned around. Lilia watched as Alyce lifted her self up and phased through the house. She heard a serious of bangs and crashes, then witnessed as James flew out of the side of the house. He disappeared in a matter of seconds, the two still going at it. Lilia was happy, even though right this very moment her house was getting ripped to shreds. It was nice to see James up and running around. And she missed Alyce. Lilia walked up the steps to the front door and walked in. She walked normally to her room, even though all around her James and Alyce were, literally, bouncing off the walls.

"Goodnight you two.." Lilia yawned.

"Goodnight!" The two said in unison as they continued to hop around the house.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**: Cheer It On!­

It was amazing that Alyce had enough sleep the other night. She had stood up practically all night with her father, messing and breaking everything in the house. Before dawn they had fixed everything up and said their good nights, but not before James gave his daughter one final punch on the arm.

Alyce was sitting out on the back deck, her legs folded up on a chair and a large acoustic guitar plopped in her lap. The screen door lay open, the smell of breakfast floating outside. The sounds of pots and pans banging together were heard, the fridge opening and closing as Lilia walked around the kitchen.

"Alyce, are you going to play?" Lilia asked, walking out of the screen door. She huddled over her cup of tea, her hair fixed and clothes on even though it was still early morning. Lilia always was ready before the sun came up. She would dress up even if there was no one coming. Alyce couldn't remember the last time she saw Lilia in pajamas.

Alyce tuned her guitar and smiled up to her step mother. "You know I can't resist when you ask." Alyce picked up her pick from the deck table and lightly strummed, listening to see if the guitar was in tune. "Any song in particular?"

Lilia pondered while she sipped her morning tea. "You can play anything, I don't mind. I just miss hearing you play." Lilia looked inside the house to make sure James was nowhere in sight. She looked back at Alyce. "I heard Bella is coming to surprise your dad."

Alyce let out a chuckle. "You read her mind didn't you?"

"I couldn't help it!" She paused and took a sip from her cup. "You know me and your father heard what happened with that lady."

Alyce rolled her eyes and strummed again on her guitar. "Mom, if you know me, then you know she had it coming." Alyce began to play a few notes on her guitar, everything was tuned. Lilia continued to sip her tea. She knew that Alyce wouldn't hit anyone if they didn't deserve it. Lilia knew about the entire situation as soon as it happened. The Professor had linked to her and was telling her everything play by play. One of the many advantages of being a telepath.

"I know she had it coming. Next time, don't miss."

The two shared a laugh and Lilia walked back into the house to continue cooking James his birthday breakfast. The sun began to shine brighter as it grew higher into the blue morning sky. Alyce took this as her cue to start playing. It had been a while since she played her guitar and it was like doing it again for the very first time. Her fingers felt awkward as she strummed little notes. Finally, she had gotten a simple tune down and began to play it. It felt so nice to be home.

Alyce looked up to the screen door as it opened. James smiled at her nodding his head along with the guitar. He fixed the buckle on his pants and pulled back his shoulder length hair. He tapped his foot along with the beat and began to do a small dance.

"You've been famous since your birth, and a silent one it was..." He sang along, smiling at his daughter. "'Til they told me it was a girl, and everybody gasped!"

Alyce smiled, her cheeks red from blushing. Her father had always sung this song first whenever they would play together. It always made her happy to hear it. She strummed harder on the guitar and her dad sung louder and eventually she joined in too. She always did have a good singing voice, she just never made that known when she was in the Mansion. She kept singing along, noticing that Bella had arrived.

James immediately stopped singing and, in surprise, picked up his younger niece. He twirled her around and gave her a hug, before he started twirling her around in a dance. Bella shot a look at Alyce and gave her a wink. Bella began to wonder how long Alyce would keep singing before she realized she had brought the rest of the X-Team with her. Even Pietro and Avalanche. It was going to be a full house for the next two weeks.

Bella giggled as she was twirled around in her Uncle's arms. "Happy Birthday." Bella spoke as she began to swish her hips to Alyce's guitar playing. James nodded his head, then looked out of the corner of his eye.

"You didn't tell her, did you?" He whispered to Bella, noticing the mass group that was in his house. He knew Alyce hadn't a clue about them, or else she still wouldn't be singing. James knew his daughter like the back of his hand, and because of that he knew Bella was going to get chased around the house.

Bella cautiously looked at Alyce, who was still busy with her guitar. She had began singing another song, not even paying attention to what was going on anymore. Bella gave her uncle a wink and looked over to the screen door. John gave her a glare, already knowing what she was up too.

"_No."_ He mouthed, waving his hands. He took a step back from the screen door and looked around for anywhere else to be. But he didn't know his way around this house. He gulped as Alyce's father walked inside.

"Go outside, kid." James gave John a firm pat on the back. John nervously nodded his head, taking robotic steps to the screen door. By now the rest of the team knew what Bella was trying to do and had scattered around, some of them already speaking with Lilia and the others with James. John stopped in front of the screen, looking as Bella danced and Alyce played. It was a new sight for him to see Alyce doing this, even singing. She had a beautiful voice and John didn't want to interrupt that. But he knew Bella wanted to surprise her. Not even surprise, but shock her.

Bella knew she was going to get it. Alyce never liked to share her hidden talents with anyone on the team, but it was now or never. Bella looked at Alyce once more before sticking her hands out to John.

"Come dance with me, John." Bella spoke and she opened the screen door and dragged John outside. He stumbled and tripped, landing smack dab in Bella's arms. She pushed him up and quickly began to dance with him before the music stopped. And it stopped pretty quickly.

The guitar groaned as Alyce picked the last string a bit harder than the rest. She looked up to John in surprise. There was no way Bella did she thought she did. Ignoring her laughing cousin and scared looking boyfriend, Alyce got up from her seat. She carefully sat the guitar down, and looked inside the house. All around were the X-Team, sitting on the couch or talking to her mother and father. She spotted a certain white haired mutant and a grungy looking one, who was locking lips with Kitty.

There was no way. There was just no way Bella would do this. Blinking fast, Alyce looked back outside. Bella was still dancing with John. Inside, the X-Team and Brotherhood. Alyce looked down at her self, realizing she was still in her pajamas. Remy passed by the screen door, whistling to Alyce.

"_Mon ami, _Remy thinks you should stay dressed like that."

Alyce smacked her hand into her face and groaned. "Bella....."

Bella froze in John's arms and pulled apart. She knew what was coming to her. Bella took a step down on the deck stairs, getting ready to bolt down. "Yes, Alyce?" She looked up to John who was trying his hardest not to look at Alyce and her skimpy pajamas. There was no way he was going to be looking at her with her father around. It was safe to say that John was going to be keeping his distance from Alyce. It wasn't on his agenda to get killed by James.

Keeping his head down, John walked back inside the house. A small smile played on his lips as he heard Bella shriek and run down the stairs.

"Come back here, Bella!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**: Such Great Heights

The house was buzzing with music and conversation as the birthday party began. James didn't want a birthday party, but his wife had convinced him other wise, and he had no choice but to give in. Birthday parties just wasn't his thing, he'd rather just eat some cake and go to bed. But right now he had to do other things. Other things involving the entire house. He looked outside the window, irked that the sun wasn't down yet. He needed to add an entirely new side to the house, or else where would the rest of the guests sleep? And there was no way in hell he was going to let Pietro sleep with Bella, or Alyce sleep with John.

James knew that's what they thought they were going to do. But he wasn't going to let that happen. At least not in his house. It was still nice to see Alyce in a relationship, and John looked like a good kid....sort of. Pietro just looked like a fancy pretty boy. He wondered how Pietro dealt with the bubbly Bella. But right now, none of that was of his concern. He needed to find Alyce to help him start making the extra rooms.

*

"So now, the bad boy John wants to be a good boy?" Alyce asked as she pushed herself up against John. It was sort of fun, having John blush for a change. She knew John wasn't going to be his normal self while he was here, not while her father would glare at him. The tables had turned on John Allerdyce, for this time it was him up against the wall and not the girl. He looked around cautiously, holding Alyce back by her waist. This girl was just trying to get him into trouble.

"C'mon, John." Alyce whispered into his ear, pushing herself harder onto his chest. She placed a small kiss on his neck. This was just too fun. She chuckled lightly as John pushed her back. He looked at her with pleading eyes.

"I want to stay alive, thanks."

Alyce smiled, she opened her mouth ready to protest when a cough caught her attention. John shot a glance over to his right, gulping as James stood in the hallway, his arms over his chest.

"Alyce...leave the boy alone. He's scared enough as it is."

Alyce shot a look at John before she left him. "_See, no problem."_ The look read. John watched as she walked down the hall and the two disappeared. John let out a breath, nervously he picked his pockets for his lighter and began to play with the top. Why did he ever agree to Bella asking him to come. He should've known better. John lit his lighter and closed the top, watching as Bella walked out of a nearby room. She huffed and fixed her hair.

She stopped and looked at John. She gave him a scowl and walked off. What was that all about? John looked back to the room as Pietro staggered out, his hair a mess. Pietro stopped, also giving John a glare.

"You too?" Pietro asked. If Pietro was right, then John had Alyce's father on his back. Which was much more worse. Pietro had to deal with Alyce's mother on his, forever entering his mind whenever he would begin to think about Bella. But Pietro felt way more sorry for John. Alyce's father was _very_ intimidating.

John shrugged his shoulders. "_It happens, man."_ The gesture meant, and the two walked off back to the living room.

*

*

Everyone had migrated to the basement, which was _huge_, and begun to sing karaoke. It was more fun than it sounded. Alyce sat on her fathers computer chair and lightly sipped her soda. Her father had really decorated it since she last came. All over the wall near the computer, her father had taped sealed comic books, and it looked like a gigantic montage. Posters where hung everywhere, and Alyce noticed her fathers game collection had grown considerably.

John had been sticking to Pietro for the entire evening and Alyce found it pretty weird. It was now the two had more in common than ever, the one main thing being they were scared to go near their girls.

"Alyce!" Bella hopped over next to her cousin. She plopped herself on Alyce's lap.

"My soda, Bella." Alyce growled as she held her cup still. She settled it down on the computer desk and wrapped her arms around her cousin's waist, to steady her.

"You've been teasing John, haven't you?" Bella asked leaning her head on Alyce's and watching as Remy got up to sing. Alyce laughed. "You've been doing it to Pietro too?"

"Of course! It's hilarious making the boys blush."

Alyce agreed watching as Remy began to sing, his voice loud. Half the words he was singing were in French, even though the entire song that was playing was in English. Everyone howled in laughter, and Remy smiled at them, feeding from it. He finished singing and Alyce noticed he took his seat next to Rogue. Bobby sat next to Piotr, the two chatting. But Alyce knew he was just trying to distract himself. Her eyes fell on Jubilee. She was the only one sitting to herself, not talking to anyone. She was looking over to Remy and Rogue.

"Did Rogue and Bobby already break up or something?" Alyce asked to Bella.

"No, why? They have been acting funny with each other lately."

Alyce felt bad for both Bobby and Jubilee. Having your heart broken was not a fun feeling. Alyce tapped Bella's thigh and she hopped off. "Do you want to go sing for Jubilee?" Alyce asked, receiving a funny look from Bella.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm not kidding around. I feel bad for her. Remy isn't being as discrete as he thinks with his crush on Rogue."

Bella shot a look through the dark room. The strobe lights from the front illuminated Jubilee. She looked sad sitting there by herself. She looked for Bobby, and noticed he was now, also, sitting by himself. Bella smiled and looked back to Alyce.

"If I get Bobby up to sing, will you get Jubilee?"

"It's a plan." Alyce nodded, smiling back. This had to be the most perfect plan. If Bobby and Jubilee were going to be sad, then they could be sad together. Alyce made her way up front, everyone looking at her as if she had two heads. She pressed a few buttons and took the microphone.

"Ok, you can stop looking at me like that...." Alyce spoke flatly, getting a few laughs. Bella hopped up on stage and took the other microphone, ready to press play.

"This song...is for the lovely Jubilation Lee...." Alyce murmured into the microphone. Everyone shot a look to Jubilee who was just as equally stunned. Didn't the two hate each other? Was it a hate song? Everyone sat back and waited. Bella pressed play and the song began to play.

Alyce swayed on the small make shift stage, Bella twirled around and Alyce opened her mouth to sing.

"Oh oh oh ohoo little china girl..." Alyce sang. She made her way off the stage and stuck her hand out to Jubilee. "Oh oh oh ohoo little china girl..." Alyce kept singing along. She smiled as Jubilee crossed her arms over her chest and looked the other way, but Alyce wasn't going to give up.

Bella began to sing the next verse. "I could escape this feeling, with my China Girl..." She moved over to Bobby and picked him by his hand.

Alyce bit her lip. She needed to get Jubilee on stage. "I feel a wreck without my, little China Girl..." Alyce sang giving Jubilee a pleading look. Alyce stuck out her hand and surprisingly,this time, Jubilee took it. Alyce smiled and continued to sing, twirling Jubilee around as she laughed. It wasn't fair to let Remy have all the fun. Alyce brought Jubilee up on stage and the two danced, everyone thinking that it must be the end of the world. Or something along the lines.

Bella gave Bobby the microphone and he took it, singing along with Alyce. Bella watched as Bobby shot Rogue a look, and she looked down. She scooted a little from Remy, and eventually just got up and left the room. Bella felt a bit bad, but felt a little better as Remy followed her out. Alyce handed the microphone to a laughing Jubilee, and left the stage. She looked as the two loosened up and had finished off the song. They looked cute together.

*

*

Rogue walked inside the room James had made for the girls. She sat down on her bed and dropped her head into her hands. Bobby and her had been having problems ever since Remy came into the picture. But she loved his company. He made her laugh and smile. She had told Bobby many a time that Remy was just a friend, but lately her heart was telling her other wise. And the way Bobby had just looked at her. As if he was getting back at her for talking with Remy. She felt bad, she felt like all of this was her fault.

"_Mon Cheri?_" Remy knocked on the door and walked inside the room. Rogue looked up, her eyes filled with tears. Remy made his way across the room and sat down next to her. "Why is such a beautiful girl like Rogue crying?" He asked.

Rogue didn't answer, she just shook her head and wiped away her tears. Remy knew there was something wrong, why else would she be crying?

"Remy knows when Rogue is lying. Tell Remy what's wrong." Honestly, he already knew what was wrong. It had to do with Bobby, and while Remy was trying to win over Rogue he didn't want her to cry. He lifted his hand up and went to brush a stand of hair out of her face, but Rogue jerked back.

He left out a soft laugh and picked up his hand. "Remy wore gloves." He had always covered himself up when he started talking to Rogue. It wasn't fair that Bobby never did the same for her. Sometimes they wouldn't even touch because Bobby had wore a short sleeved shirt, and had refused to change. It just wasn't right. Bobby _should_ be jealous. It was Remy's shoulder Rogue had begun to lean on, and not his.

Remy sighed and pulled Rogue close to his body. He wasn't scared to touch her, and he was going to show her that. "Remy thinks you shouldn't worry about _la gars froid. _Remy is here for you."

"'Ah just feel bad is all. Bobby doesn't underst-"

Remy had shut her up with a kiss. He was going to show her he really wasn't afraid. Rogue hit on his chest and pushed back, escaping the quick kiss before she could hurt him. "What are 'ya doin'!" Rogue shouted, getting up from the bed.

Remy smiled, shivering with delight. "_Mon ami_, Remy had been wanting to do that for months."

"'Ah could kill you!"

Remy began to hoot in laughter. "Remy highly doubts that. Remy is a strong guy, nothing like g_ars froid._"

Rogue touched her lips. She hadn't kissed someone in a very long time, and the emotion washing through her wanted more. Remy got up from where he sat and wrapped his arms around Rogue's waist pulling her in. "Remy isn't afraid......" He whispered, his lips brushing against hers.

Rogue began to close her eyes. She wanted so bad to kiss him. To touch his lips with hers. But she knew she couldn't do that. She could kill him. She gently pushed away from him, but he held her tight against him. He closed his eyes and kissed her. Rogue felt as if she was melting, she kissed him harder.

That's when Remy began to feel it. As if his entire body was draining out through his mouth. He placed his hands on Rogue's waist and pulled back, their lips separating.

"Did 'ah hurt you?" Rogue asked, looking scared. She bit her lip, still tasting the kiss.

Not wanting to show that he was feeling woozy, Remy gave her his best smile.

"_Mon Cheri_, Remy feels the best he was ever felt in a long, long, time."

______________________

**Glossary de la Gambit**

**La Gars Froid**- The Cold Guy


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**: The Mall Hates Them Like MSN Hates Us

Alyce sat on her parents bed, reading one of the many magazines Lilia had. She looked at the magazine absentmindedly, not really caring about Hollywood romances or breakups. She got to the last page and read the horoscopes but after that she tossed the magazine aside. Her father had asked to speak with her before her mother drove everyone to the mall. But Alyce had been sitting here for fifteen minutes and her father still hadn't said a word.

"Dad..I have to go soon. What did you want to talk about?" She called out in the direction of the bathroom. Her father came out, shaving crème all over his face and a razor in another. Alyce let out a giggle and her father shushed her.

"Can you give me like, five minutes? A man needs to shave."

"But Mom likes you scruffy."

"I don't."

Alyce rolled her eyes as she watched her father walk back into the bathroom. This was going to take a while. Alyce let out a loud sigh, and her father came back out.

"O.k, fine. I'll tell you what I have to say with my crème beard." James sat down next to his daughter and placed his shaving razor on the bedside table. He wiped off any falling crème from his face and squished it in his hands. "Your mother told me about Emma Frost."

Alyce stood quiet and waited for her father to finish. She looked up at him and watched as he cleaned off more shaving crème from his face.

"Your mother says she's trouble, and from what she did to Bella and said to you, I believe it. That woman has something up her sleeve, Alyce. I know you're smart and I know you're strong enough to handle her, but I don't think the rest of the team are."

"What do you mean by that?" Alyce questioned not really sure where her father was trying to get at.

"What I mean is, that woman is going to try to pull you guys apart. I don't mean just you and John, and the rest of the couples going on. I mean everyone."

Alyce bit her lip and looked down at her hands. Her father wasn't just saying this to say it. He knew what he was talking about and Alyce was sure Lilia found out most of the information. When all of this was going to occur, Alyce had no idea. She wished her father could give her a dead line.

"When is this going to happen?" Alyce asked.

James wiped the rest of the crème from his face, deciding that he was going to stay gruffy, just for his wife. He looked at Alyce with a frown. "I don't know, honey. Your mother only found out so much. Things at the Mansion are going to get hectic."

*

Alyce sipped her milkshake as she looked at Pietro and John. The two had sat next to each other, not on purpose but purely by accident. And by the look on both of their faces, they hated it. Alyce was feeling uncomfortable being alone with them. The secret of Alyce and Pietro kissing while she was at the Brotherhood, was still a secret. She intended it to stay that way, but Pietro looked as if he might use it against John in an argument. That wouldn't go so well.

"What's taking Bella so long?" Pietro asked looking around the food court of the mall.

"She went to go get a milkshake before she sat down." Alyce answered, not looking up as she sipped her sweet confection. Maybe Bella_ was_ taking too long to get one. Alarmed, Alyce looked around the food court. There, near the ice cream shoppe, Bella was standing. Two guys on either side.

Both John and Alyce got up, ready to go defend Bella. She was always getting into some sort of trouble. John began to walk off and Alyce was going to follow when Pietro stopped her.

"Sit down with me. I think John can handle this on his own."

Alyce stammered not sure if she should let John go on his own or not. Reluctantly, Alyce sat down next to Pietro. She hoped John wouldn't burn the place down.

"A woman named Emma Frost spoke to me a few days ago......"

*

John flicked his lighter as he walked toward Bella. It was about time he was going to see some fighting action. It had been months. He cracked his knuckles as he walked up to the troupe. He grabbed onto Bella's arm and pulled her toward him.

"You ok?" He asked as Bella plopped into his arms. She looked up at him and rolled her eyes. "I was handling things, John."

"This guy bothering you?" One of the guys spoke, motioning toward John. He pulled Bella back to his side, his other friend stepping in front. They looked like two normal bullies that you would normally find at a food court. This was easy game to John. He was disappointed.

"You want to get out my face?" John spoke calmly, folding his arms over his chest and flicking his lighter.

The guy laughed and shoved his hand on John's shoulder. "You want to start getting tough, little guy? The girl is fine with us...."

John stammered back, a smile on his face. These two were going to get it good. He looked over to Bella, who was still having trouble getting the guy off of her arm. And to think she said she could handle it. _Right_. "I'm going to warn you once..." John glared. "Let Bella go."

The one who had pushed John began to snicker, he reached his hand out and snatched John's lighter from his hands. "Gotta nice light here, buddy. Mind if I keep it?"

"Hey!" John yelled taking a step forward. Taking his lighter from him was like taking the sun out of the sky. He _needed_ that lighter. Or maybe he didn't. John gave the guy another smirk. "You're not going to let me have that are you?"

"Nope. Sorry tough guy, you fail."

"Don't say I didn't warn you then..." John smirked, sending his fist straight for the guy's jaw. Looks like he wasn't expecting that. The guy's legs buckled and he began to fall over, John's lighter flying into the air. John reached out and grabbed it, quickly opening it and lighting it. He ran his hand over the flame and closed the lighter, but in his hand a small flame bounced.

"You're going to let her go now?" John questioned once more, smirking as he moved his hand with the flame in front of his face. Bella was thrown in his direction and the guy took a step back, tripping over his own feet and falling on his rear.

"You don't touch the lighter...." John began, but his eyes met Bella's furious emerald greens. She huffed and placed her hands on her hips and John sighed. "...or the _girl."_

Bella rolled her eyes and punched John in his shoulder. She couldn't believe he had only took one of the guys out and scared the other, just because of his stupid lighter.

"What?!" John growled, rubbing his shoulder. "I just saved you and you're hitting me?"

"You only '_saved me_' because the guy took your lighter!"

"He _took_ my lighter, Bella. I'm sorry but that's top priority. Sorry to say you're second."

"What!?" Bella stomped her foot on the ground. "I can't believe you just said that!"

And the two began to bicker....

*

Alyce couldn't believe that she was hearing. Was Pietro really telling the truth? Why would he lie? She had already lost her appetite, and her mind was dizzy with the information Pietro had just given her.

"You've got to be kidding me." Alyce managed to speak. She looked at Pietro who seemed equally disturbed about it.

"I shit you not, Alyce. She really did come to the house."

"And asked all of you to come to the Mansion? I love you guys, I really do, but that woman is being sneaky."

Pietro rolled his eyes and let out a huff. "Tell me about it. She's also not scared to flirt to get her way, either"

"What did everyone else say?"

"Frederick said what I said; No. Toad said yes only because he's an asshole, and Wanda just didn't answer. Avalanche was out with Kitty so she didn't get to ask him. I think she's going to come back to the house though."

"What makes you think?"

"Wanda saw her car parked near the house a few days ago."

Alyce ran her hand through her hair. What was it that woman wanted with them? To come to the Mansion? Why? Emma had to know more than she was letting on. Alyce just couldn't figure it out and she was sure she wouldn't until it was too late. "What are you going to do, Pietro?" Alyce asked, feeling lost in her own thoughts. He looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't know.....I guess just wait and see what she was up her sleeve."

Alyce played with the straw in her glass, watching as Bella and John made their way back to the table. The two began to bicker but Alyce was too caught up to try to stop it. She had to figure out what Emma had planned before it was too late. From what her father had told her earlier, it wasn't go to be pretty if she did get her way. Going to the Professor would have him call Emma out on her actions, then who knew what was going to happen. The glass was snatched out of Alyce's hand as Bella got ready to throw it at John. Good thing Pietro was there because Alyce was still deep in thought. She had to do something and she had to do it quick.

Quietly, Alyce got up from the table and left. She looked back briefly to catch Bella dunking the rest of the milkshake all over John's lap.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter12**: Reduced To This

It was impossible to even hear the dial tone. Alyce was near the bathrooms, huddled in a small cubby where the phone was hooked up to the wall. All around her people were going in and out of the bathrooms, laughing, crackling, and shouting to each other. Why would they even put the phone here? Alyce pushed the phone to her ear and pushed a quarter in, she dialed a number and plastered her other hand over her other ear.

She could still hear the muffled drones of the people around her, but she could also make out the ringing from the phone. Alyce tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for someone to pick up the phone. There where tons of people at the Mansion and now when she had to speak to someone, there was no one picking up the phone. Alyce kicked the wall in front of her, receiving a few stares from passerby. Still no one was picking up the phone. She was ready to hang up when a soft voice answered.

"Hello? Xavier's School for the Gifted, this is Emma Frost."

Alyce slammed the phone down on the hook, curses flying out of her mouth. It seemed as if this woman was everywhere. Alyce took in a deep breath. Who else could she call? She didn't have any of the other numbers of the teachers. Maybe her mother could contact the Professor?

"_Why did you hang up?"_

Alyce looked around, confused as to where the voice was coming from.

"_Is everything ok?"_

Emma was in her mind, in her head. Alyce leaned against the phone booth, she closed her eyes. "_Get out of my head..."_ Alyce spoke in her mind. She knew full well that Emma could hear her. How long Emma had been snooping, Alyce had no idea.

"_You called, I just wanted to make sure everything was ok. Are you having fun--"_

"_It doesn't concern you. Stop trying to be nice with me, stop acting."_

"_I'm not acting, Alyce..."_

Alyce sniffled, feeling something drip out of her nose. She wiped it away with the back of her hand and opened her eyes. Blood? Alyce wiped at her nose again, noticing more blood smeared on her hand. Nervously, Alyce began to wipe her nose as more blood began to drip out. She plugged her nose shut with her hand and pushed her way into the bathroom. She could feel the blood dribble down into her mouth as she locked herself in one of the stalls.

"_First nose bleed?"_

"_Shut up."_ Alyce hissed, more aloud that in her mind. She grabbed some toilet paper and began to wipe at her nose. Specks of blood were scattered on the tile floor. Alyce swept her sneaker across the blood on the floor, trying to get rid of the specks.

"_Sometimes, I come off a bit too harsh..."_ Emma spoke. "_Sorry about your nose bleed...it happens to people when I enter their mind..."_

Alyce closed her eyes, trying her best to get Emma's voice out of her head. She squeezed harder on her nose to try to get the bleeding to stop but it still gushed out of her nose. Right now her hands looked as if she killed someone rather than trying to stop her nose from gushing. The door to the bathroom stall opened, and Lilia rushed in. She turned Alyce around, closed the lid on the toilet and plopped her daughter down.

"Tilt your head back a little..." Lilia spoke as she gathered more toilet paper and rushed her hands to Alyce's face.

"_Get out of my daughter's head, Ms. Frost..."_

"_Oh! Are you her mother? Lilia! Hello--"_

"_I'm giving you two seconds to stop your shit, or you're going to get what's coming to you..."_ Lilia looked down at Alyce, her eyes rolling to the back of her head and more blood gushing out of her nose. Lilia grasped the back of Alyce's head and held onto her as she began to shiver.

"Alyce, listen to my voice....." Lilia spoke calmly. "Everything is going to be fine, try to get your mind to calm down...."

Alyce could hear her mother's voice perfectly, she just couldn't speak. Her mind felt as if there were a thousand tiny ants in it, trailing over each part of brain. But she couldn't, she couldn't bring her mind to calm down. She couldn't do it. Alyce huffed out, blood pushing out of her nose. She grabbed onto her mother's arms, not knowing what else to do.

"Alyce, I'm going to enter your mind....just calm down. I'm going to help you..."

*

*

"How's Alyce?" Bobby asked Bella, who was wiping away tears. He plopped his bag on the floor and sat next to her. The entire team were getting ready to head back to the Mansion. After Lilia had told everyone what happened to Alyce, they all wanted to share their mind with a certain Frosty Lady. Even James, who was furious. Bobby placed a hand on Bella's shoulder squeezing it lightly. "I'm sure she'll be ok..." Bobby spoke, trying to get Bella to stop crying.

Bella looked up and smiled at Bobby. "Thanks Bobby, I know Alyce will be ok." Bella just couldn't believe that things where getting flipped upside down again. They've had their months of relaxation and now it was coming to an end. New problems were re-surfacing, new problems _and_ enemies. Why couldn't the group just get a break? Especially Alyce. Bella sighed and gave a meek smile to Bobby.

"Did you have fun with Jubilee? On stage?"

Bobby chuckled softly. "I did. It was fun to get my mind off of some things. Next time we should dance together."

Bella felt the heat rush to her cheeks. She gave Bobby a small smile before patting him on his shoulder. Surely he meant it in a friendly manner, but the way his eyes brightened up it seemed he wasn't. Did she some how begin to lead him on? It couldn't be, he knew she was with Pietro. "It would be my honour to sing with you, Bobby."

"Sounds like a plan." Bobby got up from his seat and grabbed his bag. He gave Bella a salute. "See you back at the Mansion." He walked down the stairs and left out of the house, leaving Bella to think. Was Bobby Drake....trying to hit on her just now? Bella laughed to herself. There was no way he was actually hitting on her. It had to be her mind going crazy with ideas.

*

*

Alyce sat up in her parents bed, her hands immediately rushing up to her nose. There was no blood and she was thankful. It had been her first nosebleed, quiet the experience it was. She was a bit dizzy as she tried to get up from bed but her body was telling her no. Sighing, Alyce laid back down. She closed her eyes and rested her head back down on the fluffy pillow. She had forgotten everything that had happened at the Mall, and she giving herself a headache trying to remember it. She ran a hand over her face. What had happened?

"Awake, sweety?" Lilia asked coming out of the bathroom. She had just taken a shower and was now drying her hair. She made her way to the bed and sat down, giving Alyce a smile. "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine...what happened? Is everyone else ok? Bella?"

Lilia let out a soft chuckle, placing a hand on Alyce's arm. "Everyone is fine. You blacked out in the bathroom."

"Why?"

"Emma Frost was in your mind. I don't know what exactly she was doing, but it caused you to black out."

Alyce sat up in bed. She felt disgusted. She had left Emma probe her mind, and now she was feeling like a used toy. Alyce looked up to her mother, who had begun to pick out clothes from her closet. Where was she going?

"James and I are going back to the Mansion. James is already on the road with most of the boys. John wanted to stay, isn't that cute?"

"What do you mean you're going back to the Mansion?" Alyce asked. She was ready to get up and sprint across the road to drag her father back home. Knowing her father things were going to end up broken, and knowing her mother things were going to end up in chaos. Whenever the two got mad, it was a force to be reckoned with. Emma Frost was going to get pummeled into the ground, for sure. Alyce slipped out of the bed, still waiting for her mother to tell her what was going on.

Lilia slipped on a fancy blouse and checked herself in the mirror. "Honey, you honestly think we're going to let that woman get away with what she did? You know, I might go and ask the Professor to replace Emma and let me teach that class."

"Mom, I have this under control..."

"No. You don't. Not if you passed out in a public bathroom and had to have me carry you out. You don't have this under control." Lilia turned to her daughter and smiled as she begun to style her hair. "Just let your father and I handle this. You'll still be able to have your fun when we leave. Go get dressed, Bella is in the living room by herself."

Alyce huffed and left the room, walking into hers to start getting dressed. She pulled out a pair of dark jeans and threw them on her bed. She searched inside her closest for a shirt and grabbed one randomly. She quickly began shedding the pajamas that were on her body, and began to get dressed.

Maybe if her mother drove fast enough, or if she let Alyce drive, they would get to the Mansion before her father started breaking necks.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**: Man Research

James had to be taken out of Xavier's office. As soon as he laid eyes on Emma Frost he had gotten up from his seat and was ready to send his fists flying. It took Logan, Scott, Kurt and Beast to pull the man outside. Lilia watched as her estranged husband left the room, she looked over to Emma and gave her a firm glare. She wanted her husband to hit her. Lilia crossed her legs in her seat and looked back at the Professor.

"So what's going to happen?" Lilia asked, looking over to Jean then to Emma once again. The woman had claimed that she didn't mean to do what she did, but everyone knew it was a load of bull. All Lilia had to do was spend a few minutes with her alone and she could set her straight. However, knowing the Professor, he wasn't going to let Lilia do that. It was a damned shame.

"We've put Emma on probation from teaching that class until further notice. But I do believe that she may have done it by acci--"

"Accident?! I was right in my daughters mind hearing her voice! Then she has the nerve to say hi to me while Alyce is shaking in my arms?!" Lilia got up from her seat and slammed her hands down on the Professors desk. "Professor, this woman is trouble!" Lilia shot a look over to Emma, who sat in her seat a smug look on her face. What was the Professor thinking? Lilia looked over to Jean, she was probably the only woman who had some sense in her head right this moment. Jean shook her head.

"_I'll talk to you outside..."_ Jean spoke into Lilia's head. Lilia nodded and went back to talking to the Professor, trying to convince him to fire Emma.

*

*

"I brought you here because it's the only place that Emma can't read our minds." Jean motioned for Lilia to come closer. They had traveled down to the lower levels and had taken up residence in Cerebro's Room. "You're right about Emma, Lilia..." Jean spoke after a few minutes of silence.

"Damn right. That woman has a few screws in her head loose. Why was the Professor thinking when he hired her?"

"I don't know. Emma is a class three mutant, she is slowly showing her true colours. But.....it seems as if she has the Professor in her barriers."

Lilia rolled her eyes, there was no way the Professor was being controlled by that woman. There was just no way. "Jean, I've known you for years. Honestly, that sounds ridiculous. There is no way that man would let that woman control his mind."

Jean nodded, she knew how stupid it must sound but it was the only logical explanation. "Emma can transform the reality around her and the person she is manipulating. Even though the Professor is strong, I think Emma is slowly warping his surroundings."

"So kick her out! Take the bitch out back for a few minutes and do what needs to be done. If you don't want to do it Jean, I understand. I can do it myself."

Jean let out a soft laugh, placing a hand on Lilia's shoulder. Now she knew where Alyce and Bella got their tough 'rock-em-sock-em' attitudes. And here she thought it was because of James. "I wish I could do it with you, Lilia. But Emma isn't someone we can get rid of so quickly......"

Lilia shook her head in disappointment. "So what was it that you told about Emma making her own team?"

*

*

Word around the Mansion was that Emma was holding tryouts for her new team. What the team was called, no on had any idea. But everyone was calling it 'Emma's X-Men', which sounded _very _tacky. Everyone was ecstatic over it, the lot of them had wanted to be on the original X-Team, they never had a chance to try out.

Bobby sat in the day room thinking about what Emma had told him. She had given him the first invitation to join her team and he had been thinking about it since he got back.

"_Being on the X-Team is doing nothing but holding you back from your true potential. Get away from your girlfriend, who is obviously cheating you with that Cajun. Join my team and get back at her...and him..."_

Was Rogue really cheating on him? She had been avoiding him ever since they got back from Alyce's house, always with Remy. It was Remy's fault. He was pulling the two apart. He was stealing the Ice Man's girl. Bobby got up from the couch he sat on, he was going to find Rogue and confront her. If she wanted to leave him that was fine. He had put his heart and soul into that relationship and she obviously didn't care. What could that Cajun offer that he couldn't? He got about two feet from where he stood before colliding into someone.

"Omph! Bobby, watch where you're going." Bella rubbed her forehead that had hit into Bobby's chin. She looked at him and gave a small smile, letting him know that it was ok.

"Sorry, Bella. Maybe you should tie back that blond hair of yours, show off your pretty eyes." Bobby decided that if Rogue was going to flirt with Remy, why couldn't he do some flirting of his own? They were practically done anyway. And who cared that Bella was already taken, Pietro wasn't here now. "Do you want to have lunch with me?" Bobby asked watching Bella who was blushing.

She was ready to give an answer, which Bobby knew was going to be yes, when John stepped in. Bobby growled and rolled his eyes. His plan was ruined.

"What did I just hear you say, Drake?" John lifted his eyebrows and looked at Bobby with a funny look.

"Whatever John. Mind your own business, go be a cock block somewhere else."

John let out a hoot of laughter. "Cock Block? Me? Don't be mad because you can't stick it to your girl, Drake."

Bella was lost. And right now she was in the middle of two testosterone filled boys. Just great. She let out a small squeak as both boys took a step forward, plastering Bella smack dab in the middle. The two boys kept at their bickering, shouting. Bella watched as Bobby's hand iced over and John lit his lighter.

"I'm going to DIE!" Bella shouted and pushed her hands apart, the boys stumbling back. "You two are ridiculous!" She huffed and looked over at John. "John....stop picking fights----" She turned around and faced Bobby. "--and yes! I'll go to lunch with you...but just as friends!"

A triumphant smirk slapped itself on Bobby's face. Sure just as friends. It was what he meant in the first place.....or did he? Bella linked her arms with Bobby and stuck her tongue out to John, who wasn't sure what had just happened. Did he just let Bella make a fool out of him? What was stopping him from following them and bashing Bobby's head in? The answer was easy. Alyce.

She had stepped in front of him and watched as Bobby walked off with Bella. She patted John on his shoulder and took the lighter out of his hands. He looked at Alyce, trying to understand why she was stopping him. Didn't she hate Bobby Drake as much as him? Maybe not as _much_ as him, but dislike nonetheless. Slowly, John began to calm down with Alyce at his side. She placed a small kiss on his neck and chuckled.

"Just sit back and wait...." Alyce whispered into his ear. "It's going to even be more hilarious when Pietro finds out....."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**: Tonight, Tonight

Rogue had been walking around the Mansion trying to find Bobby. The two of them had things they needed to set straight. A part of her felt bad for kissing Remy that night, and a part of her enjoyed that she did it. Bobby and her had been on such bad terms lately that Rogue could tell it was going to be ending soon. But who was to blame? Rogue had begun to think that it was all her fault. She was the one who started getting close to Remy. Even though it was Remy who started the flirting.

Rogue groaned as she stopped and massaged her temples. There where too many thoughts swimming around in her head. A sigh escaped her lips. She had to find Bobby and have a long talk with him. Rogue walked through the busy halls, most kids still excited about the try outs for Emma's team. She had only heard about it a few hours ago and when she looked at the list she noticed one name. The team leader. Bobby Drake. Was it really true? Was Bobby really leaving the X-Men? Only something else to think about. Rogue spotted Alyce at the end of the hall, looking over the bulletin board.

"Hey, Alyce!" Rogue smiled. Alyce looked away from the board and gave Rogue a quick smile. She pointed to the bulletin board with a frown.

"Crazy stuff, right? You going to try out for Emma's team?"

"No, 'ah don't like that woman, why would 'ah join her team?"

The two shared a chuckle. Rogue looked over the list, it was still empty all except for Bobby's name. She bit her lip and took a step closer to Alyce.

"Do you really think Bobby is goin' on that team?"

Alyce shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know, honestly. His name is on here, but it could be that Emma is only trying to mess with us."

Of course! Why hadn't Rogue thought of that before? It made perfect sense. She was using the leader of the X-Team and pretending to have him defect, in order to get the rest of the team to come along. Rogue smiled, she was feeling better already.

"Alyce, what would 'ah do without 'ya?"

"Hmmm....go about your daily routine and act as if I never existed?"

"'Ya know what 'ah mean!" Rogue leaned on Alyce's shoulder, giving her a small hug. "'Ya wouldn't happen to know where Bobby is, would 'ya?"

Alyce patted Rogue's hand and reached her hand up to the bulletin board. She ripped the list off and crumbled it in her hands. "He's with Bella in the cafeteria."

"Thanks...oh yea, before 'ah forget. 'Ah have something ta' tell 'ya later." Rogue winked at Alyce and began to walk off. She giggled as she heard Alyce call out her name, she was probably dying to know what she had hidden up her sleeve. Rogue turned around and gave Alyce a wave. Alyce stuck up her middle finger and the two shared another laugh, before Rogue disappeared to the cafeteria.

*

*

It was cute seeing how Bella ate her food. The way she ate everything made Bobby want to try every single thing that was on her plate. But he decided he was going to stick to his chicken sandwich. He had been dropping tons of hints at her, that he liked her, but she just wasn't getting any of them. Whether she was doing it on purpose or because she honestly didn't know, Bobby had no clue. She still blushed at every hint and it made Bobby smile.

"This is really good!" Bella beamed as she chewed a mouthful of chicken teriyaki. "This is the first time I've had it."

"I've had it a couple of times. It really is tasty, huh?"

"It sure is!"

Bella wasn't stupid, but being blond was sometimes an awesome excuse to act like she was. Why Bobby was flirting with her she had no idea. Even though he was a dirty blond himself, she knew he wasn't stupid. She was with Pietro and had been for months. Was Bobby just trying to use Bella as a rebound? It was a possibility, but then again everything was a possibility. It was possible that he liked her, it was possible that he didn't and was just being....._really_ friendly. Bella looked up from her food, noticing Rogue was coming.

"Oh hey! It's Rogue!" Bella beamed. She was going to use this as her excuse to get up and leave Bobby. She looked over to Bobby's whose face had paled and he dropped his eyes to the table. Oh yea, something was definitely going on. Rogue approached the table with a friendly smile. She chatted with Bella for a bit, and then Bella hopped off. Rogue took her place at the table.

"Hey, Bobby..." Rogue muttered. It felt awkward doing this. She had already forgotten everything she had planned on saying. Was she going to break up with him? Or was he going to say it first? Or would he try to work things out?

"Hey Rogue. What's up?"

"Nothin' 'ah just thought 'ah would come ta' talk to 'ya."

"About what?" Bobby spat, sounding a bit too cold. He threw his fork down on the table and looked at Rogue with a glare. "Are you having fun being with Remy all the goddamn time?"

"'Ah didn't come here to argue with 'ya, Bobby." She taken a back by how aggressive he was getting. She had never seen Bobby get so heated like this. She scooted over in her seat as Bobby slammed his fist on the table.

"Rogue, both of us know it's not going to work out anymore. You obviously have moved on to someone else, weeks ago. Thanks for giving me the notice..."

"It's not like that! Bobby just listen to me--"

"I'm done listening to you Rogue....go have Lebeau listen." With that Bobby got up from his seat leaving his tray at the table. He wasn't going to care anymore. He was done being passive aggressive Bobby Drake. He was going to get up in everyone's little face and he was going to enjoy it.

*

*

"Wow, Bobby's turning into a bad boy."

Bobby stopped in mid stride and looked to his right. There, leaning on a wall, was Alyce. She looked at her fingernails as she crossed her legs.

"What would you have me do?" Bobby asked, knowing that Alyce had seen everything. "It's been going on for too long. It was either me or her ending it."

"Oh _yea_, don't get me wrong. I get it just fine. Maybe you could've went about it a different way. I hope you know, right now, Rogue is crying."

Bobby suddenly began to feel guilty. He still loved Rogue, he still wanted to care for her. It saddened him to think that he had made Rogue cry, but what else could he have said? "I'm obviously not the guy for her--"

"So you're going after my cousin, huh?" Alyce shined her nails on her shirt and looked at them, extending her arm. She pushed herself up off the wall and walked past Bobby to the staircase. "I hope you know....well, I _know_ you know that Bella goes out with Pietro. You're asking for a fight?"

Bobby watched as Alyce walked up the stairs. She stopped at the last step and gave him a questioning look. "Well?" She asked.

"I'm not looking for a fight...I just...I don't know." Bobby looked back up, wondering why Alyce hadn't responded. She had already left. Bobby clenched his fists. If Pietro was going to get in his face, then so be it.

*

*

John sat on his bed with his back against the wall. He flicked his lighter, busy lighting it and playing with the flame. He flicked his lighter closed and plopped it next to him. He bounced the flame in his hands, forming a deck of cards and pretending to shuffle them. He looked over to the door as it opened and Alyce stepped in. She gave him a small smile before plopping herself next to him on his bed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Having fun?" Alyce asked as she watched John form something with his fire. She felt like a little kid at a fire show. She was getting ready to request something when he closed his hand and the fire extinguished.

"Guess what?" He whispered as he let his hand drop into his lap. He wondered how Alyce was going to take the news he was going to tell her. Probably not too good.

Alyce sighed and leaned over on John. She placed a small kiss on his neck. "What is it?"

John grabbed her hand, causing her to stop her kissing. He realized the more he tried to think about telling her, the more he couldn't bring himself to say. He stopped thinking and took in a breath, ready to say what was on his mind. "Emma asked me to be on her team."

"What did you say?" She asked, her voice a bit firm. But John could tell she was holding back from getting angry. The two of them had promised to each other that they wouldn't separate. A very sappy moment for the both of them, and they hated sappy moments. So they had just ended up threatening each other, if one of them did leave.

"_I'll kill you Alyce...I really will...."_ They gotten a laugh out of it.

John squeezed Alyce's hand and began to chuckle. "What do you think? Did you get scared?" John looked as Alyce pulled her hand out of his grip and began to blush.

"No. I didn't get scared." She muttered looking down.

"Awww...." John laughed, cupping his hands around her face. He pulled her into a kiss, just as Bobby entered the room. He growled and Alyce laughed.

"Hey, Drake, why don't you learn how to knock?"

"It's my room too..." Bobby muttered going straight to his desk and turning on his laptop.

"And you called _me_ a Cock-Block..."

Bobby shot a glance over his shoulder, but instead of catching John's eye, he caught Alyce's. She gave him a little wave. Bobby kept his mouth shut and waiting for his computer to boot up. John was lucky Alyce was here, or else Bobby would've exploded. He needed to stay on Alyce's good side if he was planning on getting with Bella. Bobby pushed his headphones into his ears as Alyce began to giggle quietly. He didn't want to know what the two were doing, but he could guess.

He didn't have to worry. Soon enough it was going to him and Bella giggling, while they were in _his_ bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**: All In Trouble

Emma sat back in her seat and lifted her white boots on top of the table. So far, her plan was going well. She was slowly manipulating the world around Bobby and sooner or later he was going to start seeing things her way. He had began to grow angry toward everyone and soon he was going to start getting hostile. It was going to be quite the sight. Emma couldn't wait.

She was slowly getting her way with the Professor too, but Jean and Lilia had interrupted that, and now the Professor was back to his usual self. Good thing he didn't remember much of what Emma had tried to do, or else her ass would've been out of the Mansion, her plan ruined. She would soon get back into her game. Her first priority was to get the X-Team officially disbanded, or if not then just severely broken up. Emma let out a sigh and got up from her chair. The try-outs for her team were in a couple of hours. Practically the entire school signed up, all except for a few...but she didn't really have to say who they were.

The try outs consisted of three major events. The first event was an agility course, outside of the Mansion she had set up various objects around in the football field. Two tries for each contestant, one with powers and one with out. The ones who got to the finish line the fastest got to go on to round two. Those who won were then taken inside to the Danger Room. There as teams they would fight different opponents and the ones who got the highest scores would get taken to the third level. A full out battle between the remaining candidates, one on one. And whoever won those, got to join Emma's team.

It was going to be a long process, but in the end Emma was going to have her_ own_ team. Then again, she knew for a fact that she wouldn't get her whole team just from these try outs. She had been persistent with the members of The Brotherhood to join her, and she had gotten a yes from Mortimer Toynbee. The rest of them were going to need some "_extra_" convincing. As for the X-Team, she had already picked out a few favourites, she just had to get work on her new target; Kitty Pryde.

*

*

Kitty really didn't want her boyfriend to be anymore bad than he was. She liked him being a bad boy, but siding with Emma for her team was just _to_ bad. Avalanche had called her the night before and had talked until the morning about his decision to join Emma's team. He claimed he had wanted to do it so he can stay at the Mansion and be with her and to also "cause some trouble with 'ya X-Punks." Kitty was sure her boyfriend was joking about that. She found it sweet that he wanted to be close to her, but for that all he had to do was just move into the Mansion. It wasn't like the Professor would say no. Maybe she could talk him out of joining Emma's team. If only he really knew how she was like, then he wouldn't be making his decision.

Kitty looked down at her phone, for what seemed to be the millionth time today. She had been waiting for Avalanche to call to tell her whether his choice was final or not. Kitty bad been nervous all day, and now as she sat in the garden, she was still nervous. Kitty opened her phone and closed it, playing with it like how John played with his lighter. What if she did join Emma's team? Would the X-Team call her out on it? Call her a traitor? Be mean to her?

"Worried about something?"

Kitty sat up in her seat, looking over a flower bush to find Alyce. She was picking at a flower and had taken it out from the bush. She placed it in her hair and smiled over to Kitty.

"I'm just thinking. What are you doing?" Kitty asked, intrigued as to why Alyce was picking flowers. She didn't seem like the type to do so, and seeing her doing it now was just weird looking. Alyce picked up another flower and smelled it.

"I'm thinking too, Kitty." She gathered another flower in her hand. "If you tell me what you're thinking, I'll tell you what I'm thinking."

Alyce had her there. Kitty _really_ did want to know why she was picking flowers. Kitty looked back down at her phone and puffed out air from her cheeks. "Emma asked Avalanche to join her team...."

"And let me guess--" Alyce sniffed another flower and added it to her hair. "--you want to join too?"

"It's not like that! I just don't want him to be more of a bad boy."

Alyce let out a small chuckle. "The Little Kitten and The Big Bad Wolf. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll see your way on it soon."

"So you think he won't join?" Kitty asked, hopefully. Alyce had a way of knowing things, or some way of knowing. Or else how would she pop around when Kitty needed help? Alyce walked up to Kitty and placed a small rose in her hand. It was still in the process of growing.

"Put that in a vase. That flower is a lot like you and Ave. It's going to take a while for it too grow, for you two to settle things with each other about Emma. But after all the trouble this tiny flower goes through to grow, it's going to be big and beautiful in the end. You two are going to pull through. Cheer up, Kitty-Kitten."

Kitty smiled. Alyce knew how to make her feel better. She looked at the rose in her hand and held it up to the sky. She twirled it around in her fingers and chuckled. "Thanks, Alyce."

"No, problem." Alyce turned around and began to walk away, making her way back to the flower bush.

"Hey!" Kitty called out. "Now you have to tell me what you were thinking!"

Alyce turned around and gave Kitty a big smile. "I was thinking that, I really didn't have anything to think about. I was just pretending to think while you than---I _forgot _what I was going to say."

Kitty let out a laugh and waved Alyce off. "Right, I'm sure you did."

"I get lost in my own thoughts, Kitty." Alyce waved off to Kitty before she finally walked off, taking all of her flowers that she had gathered and plopping them into Remy's lap.

*

*

Remy had asked Alyce to gather all the flowers that she could in the garden. Now, with an arm full of flowers, Remy made his made to Rogue's room. Alyce had told him what Bobby had done and he wanted to punch the little blond haired, blue eyed punk right in his face. Bobby obviously didn't know how to go about treating a girl. And if he _did_ end up going out with Bella, Remy was going to make his life a living hell. If her heart got broken then Remy was going to kill him. It was a fact. But right now, that wasn't the problem. Right now a certain Southern Belle was the problem. She shouldn't be crying.

Remy gently knocked on Rogue's shared room. It was a good thing Kitty was in the garden, or else she probably would've ooo'd and aww'd over Remy's bouquet. Remy put his ear to the door, hearing nothing. He knocked once more then decided to open the door. He did so and entered the room.

"_Mon Cheri?_ Look what Remy has bought for you!" Remy looked over the towering bouquet. There was no Rogue in sight. So where was she? Gently, Remy laid the flowers on Rogue's bed, he plopped himself down and looked at her bedside table. The pictures of her and Bobby had been taken out of their frames. He couldn't help but smile. Was it mean of him to do so?

Rogue came out of the bathroom and into her room. She wiped her nose with a tissue before she stopped. Her eyes glanced at the flowers, then to Remy (who was smiling like there was no tomorrow), then back to the flowers. Even though she had just finished crying, she could feel her cheeks getting hot again. But this time it was with pleasure, happiness and shyness.

"Those are nice...." Rogue smiled and looked at the flowers. "Who are they for?"

"Remy is giving them to a very beautiful girl. But this girl Remy knows...she's crying. She shouldn't be."

Rogue chuckled and sat down next to Remy. He picked up a small white flower from the bunch and gently entwined it in her hair. She didn't flinch as his gloved hand touched her face. She wanted to feel his touch and this was as far as she was going to get. Her day was looking better already. Rogue blushed and touched the flower in her hair. "Thanks, Remy..."

"_Mon Cheri_, with Remy you never have to say thanks. Remy does it because _la cheri_ deserves it." He took her delicate hand into his and brought it to his lips. She pulled back a bit. She had taken her gloves off to wash her face. Now was when she realized that they weren't on.

"'Ah don't think you should do that...."

Remy let out a small chuckle and gently squeezed on Rogue's hand. "What kind of man would Remy be if he didn't kiss his girl's hand?"

Rogue watched as Remy brought her hand back up to his lips. She could feel him breath on her hand and she shivered when his lips met her skin. He smiled and pulled back, still holding her hand after he placed his kiss.

"Remy is a strong man for _his_ girl..."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**: Skin Ticket

The entire school had crammed themselves on the bleachers over looking the Foot Ball field. The beginning rounds of Emma's try outs were starting and everyone was getting excited. All except for the members of the X-Team, who sat scattered amongst the mass group. Every single one of them sat with stern faces. Every person who won was soon going to be rivals for them. It was also showing who had a dislike for the X-Team. And there were _a lot._ Most of them were upset that the Professor never let any of them join and now that they had their chance, they weren't going to loose it.

Alyce sat next to John, the usual, as she snacked on a bag of caramel popcorn. It _was_ sort of like watching a game, so why not have snacks? She nudged her elbow at John's side and tilted the bag in his direction. He dunked his hand in the bag and came back out with a huge hand full.

"Hey, don't eat it all." Alyce rolled her eyes, looking inside the bag.

"You didn't even like it before I made you try 'em. So shut up." John began to flick the caramel corn into his mouth one at a time as he watched what was happening.

The two of them had sat all the way on the top bleacher in the middle. They had a view of everything and it was exactly what they wanted. Emma came onto the field, her white outfit reflecting the sun. She began to talk and Alyce thanked God she couldn't hear her. Then, the try outs started. Alyce watched with interest as rows of students ran off into the field, jumping, crawling, or hitting the obstacles that Emma had placed. It was the no power run and Alyce could already see some losers.

"Man, this is more awesome than going to the movies...." John laughed as a kid fell flat on his face. He finished the rest of his popcorn and dragged his hand on his jeans. "I'm considering this a date."

Alyce smiled and handed John the bag of popcorn. "The best date I've been on."

Rolling his eyes, John grabbed the bag and continued to eat from it. He felt his cheeks get hot but he wasn't going to let Alyce see that. He was supposed to be the bad boy, not the blushing "I'm-_so_-in-love" boy. _Whatever. _John looked over to the side of the bleachers. Everyone was getting up, fast, and leaving. Was something happening? He nudged Alyce and nodded over to what was going on.

Alyce quickly sucked in a huge breath, she motioned for John to cover his face and he did so. He squeezed on his nose as a dirty looking kid sat next to her. He smiled and John could notice his teeth were yellow. Who was this kid? He looked like he slept in a sewer and showered with rat piss. John shuddered, wanting to let out his breath, but Alyce nudged him.

"Hey, Mortimer." Alyce spoke, still holding her breath. "Long time no see."

"Heh, you're right Alyce. Long time no see. How are you?" John watched in disgust as Mortimer shot his long tongue out of his mouth and began to dig his ear with it. John just wanted to get up, he could feel the smell sticking to his clothes. _Fucking Disgusting._

"I'm fine, Mort. What brings you here?"

"Just watching the rounds is all. Pietro's here too, with some blond. You know I though he would be here loc--"

"But he isn't, so just go away." Alyce shot him a look. She knew what he was going to say; "..._locking lips._" Alyce did not want John knowing she had kissed Pietro. Even though it was so long ago, John would surely get mad over it and Alyce couldn't blame him. It was her mistake in the first place. But as long as Mortimer kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything then it was ok.

Mortimer smirked and nodded his head. "I see, I see. So is this your new main squeeze?"

John let out a throaty growl. Now this guy was just being annoying. "You....fucking...._stink."_ John spoke, trying to not let go of his breath. He glared at Mortimer and flicked his lighter open.

"I bet you can catch on fire in under a second..." John risked his sense of smell in order to say that. But as soon as he did, Mortimer gulped and leaped off somewhere, his trail of stink following him. Alyce let out her breath and took in another gulp of fresh oxygen.

"Who's he?" John asked. He wanted to keep eating the caramel corn, but upon smelling the bag all he could smell as Mortimer. He growled and threw the bag over his shoulder.

"Someone I used to know." Alyce mumbled, not wanting to mention her stay at The Brotherhood. She shifted uncomfortably and looked around the bleachers. She found Bella's blond hair, and Bobby's right next to her. She smirked as soon as she noticed who was sitting on the other side of her. None other than Pietro Maximoff.

*

*

So maybe Bobby was a bit nervous. So maybe Pietro was sitting next to Bella. But who cared? Bobby still liked her and he was going to continue sitting next to her and making his moves. So far, she had been talking to him while Pietro was watching the try outs. He was _really _into it.

"Pietro really likes this, huh?" Bobby asked over to Bella. She smiled over to him and nodded.

"Yea, he is. I think he just finds it funny when the kids fall." Bella began to giggle upon Pietro getting up in his seat and cheering. She shrugged at Bobby and continued to watch the game. The troupe sat all the way in the front, as request of Pietro (who wanted to see everything up close). Bobby scooted closer to Bella and leaned on her a bit.

"Maybe he should be paying attention to you.."

Bella smiled shyly and scouted over to Pietro. Bobby was just asking to get his face bashed in. Bella looked up to Pietro as he smiled at her and sat back down in his seat. He took a glance over to Bobby. The glance turned to a stare, the stare turning into a glare. Bella looked over to Bobby and he was going exactly the same thing. _Uh oh._

"I think you're sitting a bit to close to my girl, Drake. Why don't you scoot over a bit." Pietro cracked his knuckles and gave Bobby a smirk. Was this guy really hitting on his girlfriend in front of his face? This guy had to have some of the screws in his head loose.

"I don't think I'm getting to close at all." Bobby smiled and sat back up in his seat. Pietro was all talk, there was no way he was going to do anything about Bobby hitting on Bella. Or would he? Bobby didn't really care. He sat back on the bleachers and took a glance over to Bella who was talking to Pietro. Boy did he look mad. A small chuckle escaped from Bobby's mouth. He tilted his head and looked around, catching Rogue and Remy sitting together. A wash of anger surged threw him. He clenched his fists.

"You know, maybe I am getting to close to your girl." Bobby called over to Pietro, who instantly snapped his head up.

"What was that, Drake?" Pietro stood up, Bella yelping as he pulled her up from her seat. "You don't touch _my_ girl. You don't speak to _my _girl." Pietro took a step in front of Bella. She tippy toed and clinged onto his shoulders with her arms. Bella looked around nervously for anyone that could help. She spotted Alyce on the top bleachers, but Alyce only smiled.

By now, Bobby had stood up. The people around them beginning to separate. Bobby formed ice around his fists, getting ready to hit back if Pietro was going to start. He gave Pietro a smirk. "You trying to look so tough isn't working, not when you have a girl holding you back."

Pietro let out a laugh. He scratched his forehead taking a step up. "That's _really_ funny..." Pietro smiled, and quicker than lighting, slammed his fist into Bobby's face. Bobby staggered back, feeling the blood pour out of his nose. Some people started to scream and soon the try outs stopped. Everyone focused on the two mutants, who were ready to keep on fighting.

Bobby wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand. He lunged forward, his ice fist ready to punch. But he only hit the air. Someone tapped him on his shoulder and spun him around, sending another punch to his face. Bobby fell to the ground. He looked up at the sky and smiled. This was going to be fun.

He slapped his hands on the ground, two big gigantic ice spikes coming out from the floor. Before they shot up in his way, Pietro picked up Bella in his arms and raced toward John and Alyce. He plopped Bella next to her cousin.

"Youwatcherforme?" Pietro asked, his voice going faster than anyone could hear. Alyce let out a soft chuckle.

"No problem."

John stood up in his seat as he watched Pietro race back down and begin to fight Bobby. He cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted; "FUCK YEA!"

Alyce let out a burst of laughter and tugged on John's shirt. "Are you cheering? For two boys?!" Bella joined in on the laughter and watched as John began to get mad. He rolled his eyes and shoved Alyce, playfully. So yea he was cheering for Pietro. So what? If he couldn't rough Bobby up then it was fine for someone else to do it. He had been wanting this to happen for years.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**: Take It Easy!

Before Pietro could make his way back down to finish beating up the Ice Man, Emma Frost had stepped in. She knelt down next to Bobby and held a tissue to his nose. Upon seeing Pietro, she got up from where she stood, helping Bobby up with her. She gave Pietro a stern glare.

"That was uncalled for Mister Maximoff. I think you should leave."

Pietro let out a laugh, his mind still racing and his body wanting to move fast. He looked at Emma and rolled his eyes. "Are-you-kidding-me-he's-getting-what-he-deserves-making-moves-on-my-girl." Pietro spoke faster than his mouth could move. He was angry and this was how he showed it. He zoomed back and forth from where he stood, trying to get the pent up energy out of him.

Emma shook her head. She couldn't understand anything that he was saying and the way he kept zooming around was giving her a headache.

"LET THE MAN GET HIS HIT!"

Emma looked up to the bleachers. John had his hands over his mouth, while the two girls beside him laughed. She looked at him through stern eyes and ignored him, walking away with Bobby.

"Hey-where-are-you-going?" Pietro sputtered. He zoomed himself in front of Emma and pushed Bobby back to the ground. He lifted his fist, ready to punch, when something pushed him back. He landed on his back a few feet away, his head hitting against a nearby tree trunk. He groaned as he got up. He shook his head and growled. Did Emma just push him?

"So-the-little-lady-wants-it-to?" Pietro began to zoom up toward Emma when an arm stopped him and pushed him back. He struggled to get out of his captor's grasp, but when he looked to see who it was, he stopped. It was Logan. Just great. Pietro calmed down, taking in deep breaths, he looked up as Bella got in front of him.

"Are you ok?" She asked, worried. Bella nodded her head to Logan and he let his grip go. She wrapped her arms around Pietro instead, except in a tight hug. "Don't get yourself into trouble like that!"

Pietro let out a huff and wrapped his arms around Bella. "I'm sorry, Bella." He whispered into her ear. At least his voice was back to the normal speed. He took in another deep breath, letting out the rest of his energy. He hugged onto Bella and placed a small kiss on her forehead. "I didn't get hurt, it's alright." Bella slapped gently on his chest and tippy toed to kiss him.

Bella looked over to Logan and gave him a smile. "Thanks."

Logan returned the smile, but rolled his eyes. "Next time, keep your boyfriend in check." Logan looked up to the bleachers and shook his head at John and Alyce. The two had been laughing the entire time, John more than Alyce. Logan looked around as a few students walked around, most of them upset over what had happened. The bleachers had been totally cleaned out, mainly because there were shavings of ice all over the place. But Emma still wanted the contests to go on. Logan really didn't care whether they happened or not, but the idea of Emma making her own team was ridiculous.

"Hey!" Logan called over to John. "Clean this shit up."

"I didn't do this shit." John called back, raising his hands up in the air. The two had a small stare down and eventually John lost. He huffed and walked down the bleachers. He flicked open his lighter and looked over to Logan.

"What? Do you want to get burned too?"

"Don't get smart with me, kid."

*

*

Emma handed Bobby another wet wipe and watched as he cleaned his face up. She looked down at her white corset, specks of blood on it. Rolling her eyes, she took a wet wipe and tried to clean it, but it was no use. She sighed and looked back over to Bobby, who was still cleaning his face. Emma had taken him to the infirmary in the lower levels of the Mansion. She had gotten a few glares from Hank, who had been here treating another injury but she had learned to ignore all the evil looks.

"It's really sad..." Emma made her way to Bobby and began to help him clean him face. She tilted his head back and began to clean under his chin. "None of your friends came to help you. They were just sitting down and watching."

"I didn't need them to help." Bobby spoke, pushing Emma's hand away from his wife. He took another wipe and finished off cleaning his face. He wanted to take Pietro on his own, but all he did was get punched like a little wuss. If Emma hadn't made her way into the situation he would've been able to beat Pietro.

Emma bit her lip, upon hearing his thoughts. "If you still want to fight Pietro, then all you have to do is join my team. I'm sure he'll be glad to take your spot on the X-Team...to take his spot with Bella."

Bobby shot Emma a look and hopped off the infirmary bed. He gathered all the bloody wipes and threw them into a nearby trashcan. He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand, he looked at it. No more blood, that was a good thing. Sooner or later, Pietro was going to get it. Maybe even Remy too. Remy had stole his girlfriend from him, and Pietro was holding onto the girl he liked. Bobby was sure that with a few more weeks he could have Bella eating out of the palm of his hand. He was sure of it.

Emma watched as Bobby left the infirmary, a small smirk on her lips.

*

*

Jubilee was looking for someone. Someone very unlikely. She never thought she would ever be looking for this person. But she was. Alyce Red. The only thing that was troubling was that Jubilee had _no_ idea where Alyce would be. She never got to know her and now was when Jubilee was regretting it. Jubilee also had to thank her for pulling her on stage when they were all at Alyce's house. She actually had fun that day, and it was because of Alyce that she did. Or else she would've been sulking for the rest of the days there about Remy leaving her.

Jubilee shrugged the thought of Remy from her mind and continued to look around the halls for Alyce. From what she did know about Alyce, which wasn't much, she could either be at the library or....in her room? Jubilee didn't know. She stopped and thought to herself for a moment. The library was seeming like a good place to go search. If Alyce wasn't with John or Bella, then she had her nose buried in a book. Usually that book was a comic book. Jubilee began to walk, ignoring the foot steps that were right next to her. Probably some kid being stupid. She stuck her nose in the air and kept walking.

"If I assume that you're looking for me, would I be right?"

Jubilee stopped in her tracks and looked over. Alyce had stopped too, and like Jubilee had guessed, her nose was stuck in a comic book. Alyce licked her thumb and turned the to the next page. "I don't think you were looking for me..." Alyce murmured and continued to walk.

"Alyce!" Jubilee called out. "I was looking for you. Surprising, right?"

"Sure is. What can I do for you?" Alyce opened her eyes wide upon reading something in the comic and turned the page anxiously. Jubilee rolled her eyes and walked next to Alyce. This girl was a dork. Who read comics anyway?

"I need to ask you about something...or rather....I-I just need advice." The Asian teen stammered as the words exited her mouth. She never had confided with someone before. The first person she was going to confide in was someone she used to tease mercilessly. Maybe this was a bad idea?

"Sure, I can help. Hold on a second...let me just finish this."

Jubilee sighed and walked to the stair case that was at the end of the hall. She plopped herself down and waited as Alyce stood in the middle of the hall, still reading her comic. Eventually, she finished and the comic book disappeared inside a black mass that was on the floor. Alyce made her way to the stair case and sat down next to Jubilee.

"So what's up?"

Jubilee let out a huff of laughter, really out of shyness. She felt stupid asking Alyce for help. But she felt as it Alyce could help her more than anyone in this Mansion could. She fiddled with her bracelet, not knowing how to start.

"Quick! What's the first thing on your mind!" Alyce exclaimed suddenly. She put her hands on Jubilee's shoulder and shook her gently. "Your life depends on it, Jubilee! Hurry! First thing that comes to mind!"

"Bobby!" Jubilee shouted. She quickly slapped her hand over her mouth and looked around to see if anyone had heard. Alyce let out a small laugh.

"I never knew if that would work or not. I guess it does. So what about Bobby?" Alyce placed her hand on the stairs and stuck her hand in another black mass. She pulled out another comic book and opened it up.

"Nothing really. I just...._ugh_. This is stupid."

"It's not stupid. Right now, Grifter is saving Spartan from the Kherubians. Is that stupid? I think not." Alyce shook her head and turned the page of the comic. She looked over to Jubilee, who had the most stupidest look on her face. "Ok, fine. Maybe to _you_ it sounds stupid. But, whatever. Can I take a guess?"

Jubilee nodded. "As long as it doesn't involve comic book characters, sure."

Alyce sighed and closed her book for a second. "You like Bobby don't you, and you want to ask if I know anything about his relationship with Rogue." Alyce looked as Jubilee blushed. She didn't disagree so that had to be it. "Well, as for Bobby and Rogue, I'm not really sure. As for you liking Bobby, I say go for it."

Jubilee smiled to herself. It wasn't much advice, but it meant a lot. _Go for it._ Jubilee was feeling empowered. Alyce had given her the biggest courage boost of her life. She decided that later on, she would go and find Bobby, and tell him how she felt. She smiled over to Alyce and got up from the stair case. "Thanks, Alyce."

"No, problem."

"What comic book are you reading?" Jubilee asked. She was in a good mood. She chuckled as Alyce look at her with a wide eyed gaze.

"Why? No offense or nothing. You don't look like you read comics."

"I don't, but I thought I'd give it a try. It looks interesting. The colours and stuff."

Alyce let out a laugh and closed the comic. She handed it to Jubilee. "It's by one of my favourite artists. So take care of that." Alyce waved off to Jubilee and stepped down into another black mass. Jubilee watched as she disappeared. She was weird. Smiling, Jubilee looked down at the comic. She began to laugh when she noticed that some how, Alyce had changed the entire cover of the comic and upon closer inspecting the art on the inside as well. On the cover, was a cartoon picture of Jubilee kissing Bobby.

She felt her cheeks blush as she read the title; "Jubilation Lee in 'Icey Love'!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**: In Silence, It Will Scream.

Rogue had been waiting for Alyce in the piano room, for what seemed to be forever. She was almost falling asleep on one of the recliners. This had to be the first time Rogue had been here. She didn't even know there was a piano room until Alyce had told her. Rogue had a knew thought to think of while she waited.

Did anyone else know of this room?

It was pretty secluded from the rest of the Mansion. It was actually near one of the many "dead ends", dead ends meaning the many corners that ended with a single window. The door even looked hidden. Maybe Alyce had found this room by accident and stuck a piano in. Who knew? Rogue yawned, still feeling the sleep on her eyes. She was just about ready to nod off when she heard the piano begin to play. She jumped up and let out a small shriek.

"It's Fantasie Impromptu." Alyce spoke to Rogue as her fingers glided across the Piano.

"'Ya scared me!" Rogue laughed, holding her hand over her chest. She could feel her heart beating like crazy. "Since when do 'ya play the piano? And when did 'ya get here? 'Ah didn't seen 'ya come threw the door."

Alyce laughed as she continued to play. "Rogue, I am a person of many talents. What did you want to talk about?"

Rogue smiled and got up from the couch. She sat down next to Alyce on the piano bench and leaned her head on Alyce's shoulder. "Guess who kissed me?"

Abruptly, the piano stopped playing. "No way!" Alyce laughed. She slid her hand across the piano and began to play a bubbly tune. "Remy? When? Do tell!"

"It was when we were all at your house. 'Ah couldn't believe it! He wasn't even scared, like how Bobby was."

"Was...you guys done for good?" Alyce shifted back to playing another slow paced song.

"Well, from what he told me at the cafeteria, then yea. But, 'ah feel bad."

"Rogue, you shouldn't feel bad."

Rogue bit her lip and sighed. She was supposed to feel bad. Remy flirted with her and she got tempted by him. He was sweet, funny, and handsome. She wasn't scared of her either. She remembered how Bobby used to awkwardly hug her whenever she was sad. Or how he wouldn't even wipe away her tears. Remy did everything he didn't. Remy made her _feel_ loved. Even if his kisses weren't as long as she wanted, he still kissed her. He wore gloves on his hands so he could touch her face and caress her arms. For once, she wasn't the one covered up.

"Deep in thought?" Alyce asked, snapping Rogue back to attention. The Southern Belle sat up and smiled to Alyce, her fact blushing red.

"'Ya know, maybe 'ah shouldn't feel bad. 'Ah remember when Kitty first came, all Bobby would was flirt with her. Remy treats me so much better."

"That's the spirit, Rogue!"

"Besides, 'ah heard he's goin' after your cousin. Is it true?" Rogue placed a gloved hand on top of the piano keys and pressed on one lightly. She giggled as Alyce stopped playing and pressed one key as well.

"It is true, Rogue. Bobby is being a persistent little pest. He knows Bella goes out with Pietro." Alyce pressed another key and Rogue did the same.

"That's why Pietro punched him. 'Ah gotta say, 'ah never laughed so hard in 'mah life."

The two girls shared a giggle as they continued to play their defected musical score.

*

*

John was cornered by this woman. This "White Queen". He didn't know why she called her self that. If anything, she could call herself "The White Bitch." It worked _so_ much better. He looked back up to meet her blue eyes. Her face was practically two inches away from his face. Talk about violating the personal space.

"Look, as much as I'm flattered by you cornering me like this, I _won't_ date you."

Emma let out a soft chuckle and slammed her gloved hand on the wall next to his face. "I don't think you know why I'm really doing this, _John_." Emma smiled as John turned his face to the side, her lips almost touching his. What was stopping John from shoving her away? Oh right. Nothing.

John lifted his hands up and shoved Emma away with all his strength. He took out his lighter and began to flick it open and close over and over again. There was no reason for her to get in his face. There was only one person who was allowed to get that close to him.

Emma laughed as her back hit the other wall. She stood up and fixed her hair. "Only one person? Are you sure?"

"Stay out of my head, you psycho bitch."

"We both know that you've let more than one person get close to you.....do I have to say who?"

A ton of memories flashed through John's mind. There was absolutely no way this woman knew this. He never once thought about it around her, he had even forgotten about it. So where did she learn this from? The night Bella had kissed him, when Alyce had left to The Brotherhood. Was Bella still thinking about it? John cursed to himself and slammed his fists on the wall.

"I wonder how nice it would be, to let Alyce and Pietro know what happened. I'm sure some other things happened a--"

"Shut up. I will _not_ hesitate to burn you where you stand." John opened his lighter and lit it, looking at Emma with a sly look. He would do it too.

Emma smirked. "You know, you shouldn't feel so bad about hiding it. I'm sure they're hiding some things themselves."

John snapped his lighter shut. This woman was the lowest of the low. Making empty threats against him. But what John didn't know, was that Emma knew how he thought. She knew for a fact that he was going to think over and over again about the lines she had just told him. It was going to bite at him until he finally cracked and confronted Alyce over it.

"You're a sad little bitch, aren't you?" John spat. He turned away from her and began to walk down the hall. If it was Bella still thinking about this, then he had to get her to stop. He wasn't going to let Emma ruin what he had going for him. He wasn't.

*

*

"Pietro......_Pietro..."_ Bella moaned. She was actually trying to get him to _stop_. She let out a breath as Pietro moved his lips further down her stomach, her shirt pulled up past her chest. Bella lifted up her legs around Pietro and tried to get him to stop his kissing. But it was no use. He bit gently on her tummy and she let out a small giggle. She could feel him begin to undo her belt.

"Pietro, stop." Bella huffed. Immediately he did so. He moved back on top of her and placed a small kiss on her lips.

"What's wrong?" He asked, moving his lips down to her neck.

"I'm just a bit nervous.....besides, what if someone walks in?"

Pietro laughed and looked at Bella. "This is your room. Who else could walk in besides Alyce? Isn't she with John?"

"Yea bu--"

Pietro placed another kiss on her mouth. "Don't be worried about that, and don't be nervous either." Pietro traced his hand down Bella's stomach, rubbing his hand softly at her mid section. She breathed harder and locked her fingers into his hair, pushing him down harder on her lips. She took in a deep breath as Pietro undid her belt with his hand. She could feel the button on her jeans snap open--

"_**GOD**__**!**_" Came the sudden yell. "**NOT **_**AGAIN**_**!"**

Bella immediately shot up from where she lay, Pietro doing just the same. They looked to the door and let out a sigh of disappointment. Here they thought they were actually going to get in trouble. But no. There was John, hands smacked over his face and up against the wall. Bella rolled her eyes and buttoned up her pants.

John began to whimper as he hit his back against the wall lightly. He rolled his body across the wall and staggered out of the bedroom door. First, it was seeing Bella naked. Now it was seeing Bella with Pietro _on top_ of her. His hands going places that John _never_ wanted to explore. All he wanted to do was talk with her. He didn't know Pietro would be in there with her.

Bella got up from the bed and placed a small kiss on Pietro's lips. "Let me go see what he wants."

"_Ugh_. I'll be here then."

Bella gave her boyfriend a wink and skipped out of the room. She fixed her hair and crossed her arms across her chest. She gave John a light kick. "What do you want?"

Slowly, John took his hands away from his face. He looked around and frowned. "Why did you do that to me?"

"You didn't even KNOCK!"

"So.....next time **lock **the door."

They both glared at each other. Right now, if they could, they would be ripping each other's heads off. Bella huffed at John in annoyance and he was doing just the same. He pulled Bella by her arm and dragged her down the hall, ignoring her soft shrieks and hitting. He stopped and spun around, Bella bumping into his chest.

"You need to _stop."_ John spoke firmly, his mouth at her ear.

"What are you talking about?" Bella pushed away from his chest but he held onto her tight. He pulled her back in.

"Emma knows....ok. She knows we kissed all those months back."

Bella froze in John's arms. Emma had read her mind. She had to have done it. Bella could feel the tears spring to her eyes. "No...you're lying."

"I'm not. It bothers me just as much as you. She's threatening to tell Alyce...."

"No!" Bella spat in disgust. She pulled away from John but not before she hit him on the chest. It didn't hurt him, but Bella felt good that she had done it. "You're lying."

John plastered a dull look on his face. "Why would I lie about that?" He asked. He had no reason to lie. He didn't need Alyce to know what had happened all those months back. Maybe she wouldn't even care. It was hard to tell how she would react. John sighed as Bella turned on her heel and ran off down the hall. He knew she felt bad but what could he do? They had kissed, she had grinded on top of him. That's all there was too it. Was it _really_ that bad?

*

*

Bella felt the hot tears coming down from her face. She felt horrible. Both John and her had kept that secret for so long. And now, Emma was threatening to expose it. She had kept it from Alyce _and_ Pietro. If they found out who knows what would happen. Pietro didn't like John so much. Alyce.....how would Alyce react? Would she shun her only cousin just for kissing her boyfriend so many months ago? Alyce was so laid back, she probably would just look over it. Still, Bella felt horrible.

"Are you ok?"

Bella threw herself into this person's arms. She didn't care who they where. She just needed someone to hug her, to make her feel better. "I didn't mean too!" Bella sobbed into this persons' chest. She hugged tightly and the person returned the tightness of the hug. She smelled men's cologne. Was it John? Remy?

"I'm sorry for what I did! If I could take it all back I would. I didn't mean too." Bella sniffled and looked up into a pair of bright blue eyes.

"It's ok, Bella. I'm here for you now." He lifted her chin up and brought his lips down onto hers.

Bobby Drake......was kissing her.

*

*

Jubilee covered her hand over her mouth as she turned the corner. Quietly, she took a step back. Hopefully her heels weren't making any noise. She was only trying to find Bobby to tell her how she felt. That she was beginning to like him. How she couldn't get the night out of her mind when the two had danced. How her heart beat faster when she thought about him.

But no. Not now. She couldn't do that now. Not when Bobby was locking lips with the blonde haired Bella Garland. Not when her arms were wrapped around his back and his hands were in her hair.

Jubilee turned around and began to walk back to her room. She really liked Bobby and now everything was shattering right in front of her.

What was she going to do now?


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**: Someone Else

Class was class. Boring and the perfect time to sleep. But Alyce wasn't going to rest now. Not when Emma Frost was teaching the class. Why couldn't Hank go back to teaching English? At least he made it fun, with Emma it was like a robot teaching the class. Alyce looked down at her notebook, she had yet to start writing notes and wasn't planning on it either. She missed reading the old books that Hank would give out. Emma's choice of books was anything but interesting. Sighing to herself, Alyce watched as Emma began to write on the board again, everyone else writing in their notebooks.

"Ok, so if everyone turns to page 16, there's a paragraph on the main character's feelings. I want you guys to do a quick writing on what you think is going to happen in later chapters." Emma smiled and closed the book, the rest of the X-Team groaning. Emma sat behind her desk, catching Alyce looking at her with a distaste. Oh well, that wasn't Emma's problem. Her job was to teach the class and that's what she was doing. She wasn't going to let the fact that a few students hated her get in the way.

Emma opened her book and began to read from it. When everyone had walked in to class this morning, she already could tell how nervous Bella was. The girl looked like she had cried for hours on end. And from a little snooping inside her head, Emma had found she had kissed Bobby. Well, Bobby had kissed her. There where so many love triangles in this school, it wasn't even funny. Bella, however, was traveling places. First John, then Pietro, now Bobby? Emma chuckled softly to herself and looked back to Alyce. She was looking outside the window, ignoring her studies completely.

"_Not going to work on the assignment?"_ Emma asked, transporting her voice into Alyce's head. Emma watched as Alyce didn't even look in her direction, or seem the least bit annoyed. Did she even hear Emma's voice?

"_No. I'm not doing the assignment." _Alyce's voice suddenly popped into Emma's blond haired head. A small smirk formed on Emma's face. Did Bella or John already share their secret with her?

"_That's fine. More Homework for you then. I've noticed your cousin is looking a bit.....nervous."_

"_Maybe because you called her a worthless human being when you first met her."_ Alyce sat up in her seat and crossed her arms over her desk. She locked her eyes with Emma. This was going to be a long conversation. Emma cocked her head to the side and frowned.

"_I don't think it's because of that. Hmmm....I don't know. Maybe it's better if I don't tell you."_

"_Did you do something to Bella?"_ Alyce began to get alarmed. She clenched her fists but remained seated. She didn't need to start blowing up if Emma was only playing with her head. Alyce felt a drip come out of her nose. Quickly, she wiped it away with her hand. Blood, _again_. "_What did you do to Bella?!"_ Alyce could feel her hand shaking as she looked around the classroom. She didn't want anyone to see her, not with her nose gushing out again. Alyce looked ahead of her, Bella hard at work.

"_I didn't do anything to Bella.....you should be asking yourself...what did John do to Bella..."_

"_What? What do you mean?"_ Alyce glanced over to John, who was surprisingly, doing his work. Her eyes shifted back to Bella. She didn't understand. Emma was just being a conniving bitch.

Emma smiled and shrugged her shoulders. This was going to be so much fun. Just looking at how nervous Alyce was getting over the blood that was coming out of her nose. She could learn to enjoy making this girl suffer. "_I can't explain it really.....it's really horrible."_

"_Tell me!"_

"_I'll show you...."_

Alyce brought up her other hand and covered her nose, trying to cup the blood in her hands. It began to drip in between her fingers, falling on her desk and clothes as a flood of memories flashed through Alyce's head. It was like she was right there, watching everything as it happened. John in her room. Bella coming out and kissing John. Alyce closed her eyes and opened them again. This wasn't real. It wasn't _real._ John sitting on the bed, Bella getting on top of him. Kissing. The scene flashed, and Alyce could hear Bella moan, she could see John smile.

Emma felt so sick and twisted. She was loving every last minute of this. By now, Alyce was shaking so uncontrollably she couldn't even sit straight. Wait....were those...._tears?_ Did Emma frost just make this girl cry?! Emma wanted to laugh so hard. Even though all these events had happened months ago, Emma was making Alyce think it happened recently. How recent? Three days ago recent. Emma gave Alyce a big toothy grin as the crying girl got up from her seat, her back hitting the wall behind her. The chair squeaked loudly as Alyce bumped into it.

"You're lying...." Alyce muttered. She glared at Emma. This all had to be fake. Emma was making everything up. Alyce let one hand fall to her side, the blood that she had cupped from her nose sloshing out and falling on her shirt.

"Alyce, are you ok?" Emma asked, pretending to be concerned. She got up from her desk, but stopped when she saw Bella get up from her seat.

"Alyce? Oh my god...I'll call Lilia..." Bella extended an arm out to her cousin, but she stopped. The way Alyce was looking at her. The way her blue eyes looked, angry. "Alyce?" Bella asked.

"Stay. Away. From. Me." Alyce coldly spoke. She looked at her cousin, tears springing to her eyes. Not once had she ever spoken to Bella that. Alyce looked as John got up from seat, his eyes looking just as nervous as Bella's. So it was true. John was cheating on her with Bella.

Quickly, Alyce stormed out of the classroom, shoving Bella away as she tried to stop her. As much as Alyce didn't want to believe what she had just saw. As much as she didn't want to think John _or_ Bella would do that to her. As much as she didn't want it to be _real._ It was. It was very real. Alyce walked down the hall, still wiping her nose with the back of her hand. Was Emma really telling the truth?

Alyce closed her eyes, the flashes of what Emma showed her smacking right back into her mind. She could feel her head aching, the world around her spinning. She took a step forward, but her legs buckled. She could see the floor rushing to meet her face when an arm slipped around her waist and hoisted her back up to her feet.

"_Mon Cheri, _what is wrong with you?" Remy tried his best not to look at the blood that was splattered over Alyce's face. He felt his stomach get a bit queezy but he couldn't chicken out now. Alyce needed help. He placed his hands on her shoulders and guided her to the wall. "Remy wants to know what happened." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a tissue, handing it over to Alyce.

"Keep _him _away from me." Alyce muttered, her eyes drooping and closing. Remy didn't understand. He looked in the direction Alyce turned and saw John, coming down the hall, raising his hands up to Remy. Did Alyce mean him? There was no way. Remy placed a hand on Alyce's face and looked at her.

"You mean _le feu?"_ Remy asked. He looked into her eyes. They were stern. But why? From what Remy had seen he had done nothing. But if that's what Alyce wanted he was going to do it. Remy scooped Alyce into his arms, carrying her.

"Hey! Lebeau, what's wrong with her?"

Remy stopped, Alyce clutching on his shirt. "Run along little _feu._ _Mon cheri_, doesn't want to see you." Remy took a step forward and continued to walk. He had to take Alyce to the infirmary. When he looked down again, she had passed out. He tightened his grip on her, but stopped when John ran in front of him.

"You didn't answer me, Lebeau. Tell me."

Remy didn't need Alyce to tell him why. But whatever he did, Remy knew was wrong. He didn't need a reason to be mean now. Remy glared at John. "_Le Feu_, messed up big time...." Remy shook his head from side to side and continued walking down the hall, leaving John frozen in his place.

John couldn't move. For the first time, it felt like his blood was running on ice. He turned around, watching as Remy continued to walk down the hall, leaving a trail of blood. What happened? What was going on? It was Emma. It had to be Emma Frost. It was the only explanation that John could come up with. He turned around, ready to storm back into the class and unleash his fury. But he stopped.

There, in the middle of the hall was Bella. She looked at John with a sad look, tears pouring out of her eyes. They both had a very strong idea on why Alyce left the room. But none of them wanted to admit it to themselves. She walked up to him and John wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry on his chest. Her shoulders shaked as she sobbed. He didn't know what to do. He brought his hand up and patted Bella's head.

John looked up, his eyes immediately connecting with the fierce icy gaze of the White Witch.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**: Pendulum

Remy had taken Alyce to a secluded part on the outside of the Mansion, after she had woken up. She was still a bit dizzy and nauseated, but it was nothing that a little food couldn't cure up. Remy handed Alyce a sandwich he had made himself and watched as she opened up the plastic wrap.

"Remy, I'm not hungry." Alyce folded the saran wrap back over the sandwich and handed it back. She didn't feel like eating. She didn't feel like doing anything. When she had woken up in the infirmary it took a minute for her to realize what had happened. Then, all the memories smacked into her head. It felt as if her heart was breaking all over again. The more she thought about it, the more she could feel her heart shatter. It was a new feeling to her, the way her chest ached and how her eyes began to water. Alyce sniffled and leaned her head over on Remy.

"Tell Remy what happened, _mon cheri._ Remy doesn't like seeing Alyce like this." Remy took Alyce's hand into his and massaged it. It hurt him to see her all down. In the few hours that had passed the colour from her eyes had faded, her lips were pale, and she just looked dazed. Remy moved the shoulder that Alyce lay on, trying to get her to talk. "It's better to let it all out." Remy whispered.

Alyce took in a breath. "Remy, I don't even know where to start....."

"_Find_ somewhere to start."

"Would you trust Emma Frost?"

"Of course not! Remy thinks that woman is a _snake_."

Alyce sighed. Emma _was_ a snake. So why was Alyce letting her mind get played by her? She was feeling more like a puppet and Emma was being the puppeteer. Alyce looked down at her shirt and fiddled with the hem, dried specks of blood were everywhere. Why was it that only when Emma read her mind, her nose would gush out with so much blood?

Remy looked down over to Alyce, noticing she was silent. He played with her fingers trying to get her to relax. "Did that snake do something?"

"Remy, what she showed me looked so _real._ She showed me John and Bella, kissing and....." Alyce hung her head low and brung her hand to her face. "I don't know."

"Does _mon cheri_, believe that what that snake showed was really real?"

"I don't know what to think, Remy. From the way Bella and John looked at me, I could tell that something was up."

Remy shook his head and sighed. "Maybe they looked like that because they were worried. Remy thinks you should sit down and talk with one or the other."

"Even if I did...then what? They like each other. Maybe I should just butt out and leave them alone."

"_Non_, that is the wrong way to think. What about _cheveux blancs?_"

"Who?"

"Remy doesn't know his name. Remy calls him _cheveux blancs, _white hair."

Alyce let out a soft chuckle. Remy was just too cute when it came to him explaining things. "Pietro? What about him?"

Remy opened up the sandwich he had in his other hand and took a bite from it. He held it up to Alyce's mouth and reluctantly she took a small bite. "Doesn't he go out with _mon ami?_ Wouldn't he be just as upset?"

Alyce chewed and took another bite from the sandwich. "He doesn't know yet. I don't think he will find out."

Remy placed the sandwich in Alyce's hands and took the other piece. He stuffed it in his mouth, chewing with large bites. "Remy doesn't know what to do. If Alyce talks to him, things will get more bad."

"The thing is Remy, when I was at the Brotherhood, Pietro and I kissed a couple of times."

Remy let out a sigh, some of the sandwich flying out of his mouth. This got both of them to giggle. Remy wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand. "This is like one big novella. Remy just thinks everything should come out into the open. Everyone will settle down soon enough." He stopped and raised an eyebrow. "_Mon ami, _can Remy ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Alyce didn't have _sex---_"

"No, Remy. I did not. With either of them."

"Well! _Excusez-moi!_"

Alyce chuckled and finished off the rest of her sandwich. She cuddled closer to Remy and smiled as he put an arm over her shoulder. Rogue was lucky to have a guy like him. He knew how to make anyone feel better.

*

*

John and Bella had some problems of their own. Right now, John was having a hard time from holding back Bella. As much as he did want Bella to hit Emma, he didn't want Bella to get hurt if Emma did something. The rest of the team had left, going to the rest of their classes. They weren't even sure what was happening. They didn't know a thing. What was going on was strictly between John, Bella, Alyce...and soon Pietro, as well.

"You _bitch_! What did you tell Alyce?!" Bella yelled, she hit at John's arms to let her go but his grip on wasn't letting go. "What did you do!" John stumbled back as Bella bumped back onto his chest. She had some strength in her.

"I didn't _say_ anything." Emma coyly said, a smirk still on her face. "Is there something you two are hiding, for you to be acting this way?"

John signed and used his other arm to bring Bella back down on her feet. He pushed her behind him and gave Emma the meanest look he could come up with. "I think we both know what you told me."

"So?" Emma rolled her eyes. "What of it?"

"Last time we were at the mall, Lilia told me you were in her mind. That's why she got that nose bleed! She got a nose bleed today! You did something!" Bella shouted, trying to get back in front of John. John looked back at Emma with a raised eye brow. _You did something. _The look said.

Emma placed a hand on her stomach as a giggle crept up her throat. "You think I really did something that bad? All I did was show her the truth! You would think she has the right to know...." Emma stopped laughing and her face grew stern. "Bella, sweety, if Alyce responded so bad, I wonder how Pietro is going to take the news."

"SHUT UP!" Bella screamed. She was so close to Emma when John had stopped her once again. "Let me go!"

Emma sighed and began walking out of the room. She stopped next to John and placed a hand on his shoulder. She leaned in close to his ear. "If I were you, I'd get ready to fight Pietro...._again."_

*

*

For the rest of the entire day, neither John or Bella saw Alyce. Where she was, they both had no idea. She wasn't in the library, and she wasn't in her room. She wasn't in the garden or the cafeteria. It was like she disappeared off the face of the earth. She was avoiding John and Bella like the plague. Night time fell over the Mansion and the second round of the agility course was getting ready to start.

Alyce looked out of the window to Remy's room. She could see the entire course as different kids began to set up the obstacles. Alyce turned around to see Piotr, Remy's roommate, enter the room. He gave her a surprised look at waved at her. Alyce waved back, trying to put on her best smile.

Piotr looked over to Remy, who was sitting on his side of the room, Rogue in his lap. _"How do you deal with this?"_ The look read. Alyce laughed and sat down on Piotr's bed. She patted the spot next to her and Piotr sat down.

"Are you ok?" Piotr asked. "Very bad nose bleed, comrade."

Alyce smiled. "I'm fine. You know it's been a long time since we've done an art contest."

Piotr nodded and leaned over to his desk. He took his sketch book out from the draw and handed it to Alyce. She opened it and began to laugh. There, right on the first page was a picture of Rogue kissing Gambit. Then on the next page, was Rogue kissing Bobby. She felt bad for laughing, sure it was mean, but Piotr's cartoons were simply hilarious. Alyce quickly closed the book. "That's mean, Piotr."

"It's funny. You're laughing. Do you want to go outside and see the little ones fail at Emma's course?"

"No thanks. I'd prefer to stay inside toni--"

Piotr got up from his bed and pulled Alyce by her wrist. "You are going to come with me." He smiled. "If you are worried about John, then do not worry." Alyce found herself following Piotr even though she didn't want to go. She planted her feet on the floor and stopped.

"Piotr, I really don't want to go."

Piotr let out a laugh. "You will have fun. You need to take your mind off of that guy. I don't know what's going on with all of you, but you're my friend. Right?" Alyce nodded. Piotr gave her another smile. The fact was that John never spoke to Piotr. It was like the two didn't exist to each other. Piotr knew that taking Alyce with him would ensure that only would she have fun. But also, John and Bella wouldn't think she would be with him. Alyce could have a clear head and join along laughing without having to worry about them finding her.

"No one messes with Colossus. We will be fine."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**: Sound Check

It was silent most of the time. Between Piotr and Alyce that is. The two had learned to communicate so well without using words, that now when they were together they just stuck to using hand motions and funny looks. They watched, laughing, as the rest of the students competed in the running course. A kid had fallen right into a puddle of...something, and this caused Piotr to hoot in laughter. Alyce had never seen him laugh, but his laugh was the most contagious she had ever heard. In a matter of seconds, her face was just as equally red, tears springing out from her eyes in laughter.

Alyce clutched onto her stomach and covered her mouth with her hand, a loud snort escaping her nose.

Piotr stopped laughing and looked at her. "_Was that....a snort?"_ His face read. Alyce nodded and Piotr erupted back into laughter. Alyce found herself enjoying his company more and more as they continued to laugh. Not once did she stop thinking of the fun they were having. John and Bella never crossed her mind. Alyce smiled and placed her hand on Piotr's shoulder.

"_Thanks."_

He smiled and placed his hand on top of hers. "_It's what friends do."_ He began to laugh again, another kid tripping over his own feet and landing smack dab on Emma's backside. Alyce couldn't remember the last time she laughed so hard. Halfway through the round, Piotr got up and bent down on the ground. He looked back at Alyce, who had a confused look on her face. He pointed to his back.

"_Piggy back ride."_

"_No way."_ Alyce crossed her hands and gave Piotr a frown. He pointed to his back again, and this time Alyce agreed. Awkwardly, she climbed on top of Piotr. She let out a surprised gasp as he lifted her up, quickly she wrapped her arms around his neck and huddled in close. She never realized he was so tall until she looked down at the ground. Alyce rested her head on top of Piotr's head, bopping along as he walked.

"I cannot see your face. So we must talk."

Alyce chuckled. It was true. "Feels weird to talk. I'm so used to just giving you looks and you know what I'm saying." Piotr laughed and Alyce could feel the vibration on her chest.

"At least you had fun, you can go to bed without worrying." Piotr lifted Alyce up again, causing her to giggle. "It's nice to hear you laugh. I like seeing Alyce when she's happy Alyce."

Alyce let her arms hang over Piotr's shoulder. "I like being happy Alyce too. Unfortunately, things can't always work in my favour."

"You worry to much. Whenever I see you, you're worrying about something. You need to learn to let go."

Alyce scrunched up her nose. "What do you mean by let go?"

Piotr stepped over a rock and made his way to the front garden of the Mansion. "Let go, meaning, don't be scared to relax. You worry about your family, but Bella is safe with us in this Mansion. You worry about everything, Alyce. Live day by day, not day by week. Only worry what's going to happen today, not tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day after that." Piotr stepped up the stairs to the front of the Mansion and walked to the side door. He lowered himself down and Alyce hopped off.

"I like how that sounds, Piotr. I should try doing that sometime."

"You should try now." They walked inside the Mansion, the bright lights hurting their eyes. They stopped at the grand staircase, the two obviously going separate ways. Alyce hopped up on the first step and placed her hand on the banister.

"I wish I could start now, Piotr. But there's too much going on right now."

"Well, promise. Promise you'll start when everything is settled."

Alyce looked at Piotr. She had finally gotten to his height after stepping up on the fourth stair. Damn he was tall. She gave him a salute and a smile.

"I promise."

*

*

John had the feeling of Deja Vu. Here he was, sitting on the bed that Alyce and Bella shared. Here he was, hearing Bella sob in the bathroom. This time, he wasn't going to get up from where he sat. Last time he did, it ended up in a kiss. He wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. John ran his hand threw his hair with impatience. What if Alyce walked into the room? He wasn't in a position to defend himself. He looked over to the bedside table clock. It was already one in the morning. Where could Alyce be anyway? John opened up his lighter and lit it, transferring the flame to his hand. He looked as it formed into the shape of a heart, then quickly faded into something else. He signed and flipped the flame around his fingers, like he would a coin. He could feel the heat around his hand, and a part of him wanted to get burned.

He looked at his hand, daring himself to let the flame touch his skin. He was ready to do so, when the door to the bathroom opened, startling him. The flame disappeared from his hand.

"This is your fault!" Bella shouted at him.

John rolled his eyes and got up from where he sat. "How is it my fault?! You're the one who kissed _me._ Are you too blond to remember anything that happened?"

"I remember just fine!" Bella shouted, pushing him as he got closer to her.

"Then what the fuck?! If anything it's _your_ fault. You came out of the bathroom and kissed me! I pushed you back and you pushed me to the bed and climbed on top of me. And that's my fault?"

"You kept kissing!" Bella retorted. She didn't need John to re say the thoughts that were already playing in her mind. She looked at John with furious eyes as he closed his mouth. "You know it's true!" She took a step toward him and began to hit him with her fists. She didn't care if her hits were weak, she hit at his chest with all her might. John stood still, occasionally stepping back as Bella kept hitting. Maybe he deserved to get hit. Bella was right. He did keep kissing her. Even when they had pulled apart, he had pulled her back into a kiss.

"You....y-y-you....." Bella began to cry, her fists stopped hitting and laid on John's chest. John wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She sobbed louder. Everything was breaking again. Everything was going back to hell. Just when she thought nothing bad was going to happen anymore. When she thought they could all be happy. That one night came and was slapping her back in the face.

"John.....I'm....I'm so sorry." Bella hiccuped onto his chest. John hugged her tighter and she felt more tears spring from eyes.

*

*

Alyce was planning on going to sleep. She wanted to lay down in her bed and close her eyes. She was having such a nice night. But right now, watching what was happening inside her room, it wasn't so nice. This confirmed everything Emma had told her. Alyce placed her hand on the door knob. A part of her wanted to kick the door down, another part was telling her to just leave. To go sleep somewhere else for the night. Alyce took her hand off the knob and took a step back. The door had been slightly ajar when she had heard Bella yelling. It was when she got to the door that she heard everything.

Even though Remy had told her it was a bad idea, Alyce wanted to give up and let the two be together. Watching them hug onto each other, was convincing Alyce to do just that. Alyce blinked fast as she felt hot tears fall down her cheeks. She wiped them away from her face in surprise. She didn't expect for her to cry, _again_. This was twice in the same day. She was growing weak. She wasn't the Alyce she used to be, she wasn't strong anymore. Here she was, being a stupid little girl and getting her stupid little heart broken. Alyce turned on her heel and made her way down the hall. She didn't know where she was going to sleep tonight, but it shouldn't be to hard to find a place. Alyce stopped in her tracks. She could hear her door close quietly. When she turned her head to look back, there was no one in the hall.

They surely wasted no time when it came to sleeping together.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**: Just Forget

Pietro had the perfect gift for Bella. He looked down at the lavender velvet box that lay in his hands. Bella had been talking about this bracelet for weeks when the two of them had seen it on display at the Mall. Of course he could've gotten it for her on the spot, but she refused having him spend money on her. Pietro couldn't help but smile to himself as he walked up the front steps of the Mansion. He ran his hand over the box and opened it for what seemed to the hundredth time. The pendent was bright and shiny, at the end of the small bracelet was a cute little thunderbolt. Bella had told him the thunderbolt reminded her of how fast he was. This was _so_ going to get him laid. Not that it mattered if he didn't....he just liked to make Bella happy.

Pietro was sure he had the biggest grin on his face. His cheeks were probably the reddest they've ever been. Pietro jogged up the stairs and made his way into the south wing. It was still early in the morning, 8 o' clock early in the morning, Bella was going to be even more surprised when she woke up to this. He had to be the most perfect boyfriend in the world. Arriving at the bedroom door, Pietro stopped and checked to make sure his hair was looking fine. He was wearing the cologne that Bella loved best and the shirt she loved on him so much. Pietro took in a deep breath and with the biggest grin he had on his face, he opened the door.

The box in his hands immediately fell to the ground. His hand still on the knob as the door opened, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He stood still, his brain trying to comprehend what it was he was seeing. He had the perfect gift, he _was_ the perfect boyfriend. Did he do something wrong? Pietro took a step forward into the room, not even sure what to do with himself. He watched as Bella moved around in her sleep, her arm going over none other than John Allerdyce. She rested her head on his chest and gripped at his shirt. Why where they sleeping with each other? Pietro couldn't even understand what was going on. There was no way. Pietro felt his grip on the door knob tighten. Before he knew what he was doing, the door knob broke off the door, startling the two sleeping and waking them up.

"Pietro....it's not what it looks like!" Bella shouted. She squeaked and covered her head as Pietro's arm shot out next to her and grabbed John by the collar of his shirt. Now _this_ was a rude awakening. John felt his body being lifted up from the bed, no time for him to grab his lighter. His sleepy eyes were now wide awake and looking right into a set of angry, raging, greens. John gripped onto Pietro's hands and pushed back. But his feet weren't even touching the floor.

"Listen to her, will 'yah? It isn't what it looks like."

"You _really_ shouldn't be talking right now....._Pyro_." Pietro growled through gritted teeth.

"We still have our clothes on. We didn't fuck."

Pietro curled his other hand into a fist and was read to punch when a pair of soft hands stopped him. Pietro looked down at Bella, her eyes watering.

"Please...._don't."_ She pleaded squeezing on Pietro's arm.

Pietro growled and viciously took his arm out of Bella's grasp. He pushed John away from him and watched as he fell to the floor. Bella got up to stop him but he zoomed out of the bedroom, his boots digging into the floor and breaking it apart.

*

*

Alyce formed a clawed hand and brought it up to the face of a nearby solider. She gripped onto his face and dug her claws into his mask. She gave him a firm kick where the sun didn't shine, and threw him across the room. He slammed into a wall and his body disappeared, floating little pieces of numerical technology floating into the air.

This was the best way to blow off some team. The Danger Room. All she had to do was tell one of the teachers she wanted to train and here she was. She had found Logan and convinced him to crank the difficult level up to max. It was a piece of cake.

Alyce jutted her arm out to her side, a massive blade swishing out of the black metallic armour. She watched as down the hall a group of arm soldiers huddle together, their guns aimed right for her. Alyce took in a deep breath and took a step forward. She took another step and soon she was running down the corridor, black tentacles swishing up and pushing her faster down the hall. The soldiers fired their bullets and they went right into Alyce's body. But this was a simulation. The only thing she felt was the stinging of the computer telling her she was getting injured. Whatever. Alyce brought up her blade and began to swish madly at the soldiers in front of her. Each one of them began to disappear and before she knew it, there were no more soldiers left. Alyce let out a sigh of disappointment as the simulation around her began to fade. She retraced the blade back into her arm and the armour turned into tentacles and slapped onto the floor, completely disappearing.

"I was just warming up." Alyce spoke out into the air. She looked up and rolled her eyes to Logan, who was in the sitting booth way up top. She took a deep breath and summoned up her infamous black tentacles. The lifted her all the way up to the booth. She tapped the glass and watched as Logan grew startled. She laughed.

"Put the simulation back on."

"No way, kid. According to how many hits you took from the bullets alone you should be dead."

"I wasn't doing it to practice dodging bullets, I was doing it to let off some steam."

From behind the glass Logan sat back in his chair and popped open a beer. He gave Alyce a stupid look and she rolled her eyes. She hit the glass again. "C'mon!" She shouted. Logan pressed the button for the intercom with his boot.

"What the hell is up with you anyway, kid?" Only one other person besides Alyce and him had ever done that simulation on max difficulty. It had been Scott. But he failed so miserably that he was "dead" after the first 15 minutes. Alyce, however, completed the mission in under 15 minutes, but was still just as "dead" as Scott had been. Good thing this was only a simulation. Logan watched as Alyce phased through the window and hopped into a seat next to him.

"You're not going to let me do it again, are you?" She asked, leaning back in the seat, her uniform morphing back into a set of regular clothes.

"Nope. You're way to angry. Mind telling me why?" Logan asked taking a sip of his beer. It was a miracle he had even found one.

"Long story."

"I like long stories."

"I don't."

Logan looked at Alyce and huffed. "You're going to be difficult then? I just want to help, kid."

"I know you do, Logan. But everything is so pointless."

Logan sighed and finished off the rest of his beer. He placed the bottle on the floor and let out a burp.

"I like pointless stories....I'm all ears."

*

*

The conversation with Logan had went well. He actually found it to be quite funny. His advice?

"_Punch both of them in the face, kid."_ Alyce never thought she would've laughed so hard at what he said. She had just walked out of the Danger Room when a gust of wind sent her hair flying in her face. She brushed the hair out of her face and stood face to face with Pietro. He grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Alyce-I-just-saw-John-with-Bella-sleeping-in-your-bed-what-the-fuck-is-going-on?" He gently shook her trying to get a response out of her, but she only looked at him with a stupid face. He took in a deep breath. He knew his words were going fast for her ears, he probably sounded like a song in fast forward, minus the squeaky voice.

"Pietro calm down." Alyce smiled at him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and patted them.

"I saw Bella sleeping with John in your room.....why is that?" He took in another deep breath and regained his composure. He fixed his hair, which he knew was messy from him running around, and smoothed out his shirt. He looked down to Alyce, her mind else where. He poked her with his finger and she snapped back.

"Pietro, I don't know how to tell you this...."

"Just spit it out. Is _your_ boyfriend make the move on _my _ girl?" Pietro crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Alyce to respond.

"I only found out yesterday that both of them had been kissing in my room only a few days ago."

"What?! What are you talking about? How do you know this?"

"Hey!" Alyce pointed her finger at Pietro's chest. "Don't raise your voice at me. I didn't know that John was cheating on my until yesterday! I'm not the one who made this happen, so watch who you raise your voice too."

Pietro grabbed Alyce's hand. "I'm not meaning to yell at you. But what the fuck?"

"Emma told m--"

"Emma Frost?! We both know you can't trust that bitch. What the fuck?"

Alyce groaned and slipped her hand out of Pietro's grip. "Stop cursing. And she told me, when I went to my room last night, I heard John and Bella arguing about the same exact thing she told me. So you can't stand here and tell me that she was lying."

Pietro staggered back. "You're telling me that Bella is cheating on me?"

Alyce huffed out in anger. She didn't like talking about all of this all over again, especially not right after she talked with Logan about it. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, trying to get her thoughts straight. "Look, if Bella is cheating you then John is cheating on me. I don't know how any of this started. I'm just as much in the dark as you."

"Did you ask them anything?" Pietro asked, looking at Alyce with stern eyes. He just wanted to find out what was going on.

"After standing outside of _my_ bedroom and hearing them argue about them kissing, you think I want to go in and ask them a question?"

"Why the _fuck_ not?"

"Didn't I say to stop cursing?" Alyce glared at Pietro and he placed his hand over his mouth. He nodded to her and she gave him a smile. Surprisingly enough, this conversation was extremely mellowed out. The two of them speaking like this was something they would always speak about everyday. Pietro looked down the corridor upon hearing a bunch of voices. Alyce grabbed at his arm as the entire X-Team made their way down the hall. All of them in their uniforms.

"Fuck...I forgot. Today the team has training." Alyce looked amongst the group and she felt her heart drop as she saw John. Right next to him was Bella. She usually sat in the upper booth and watched the team train.

"Hey, didn't you tell me to stop cursing." Pietro already knew what Alyce was going to ask. Not waiting for her to ask, Pietro picked Alyce up into his arms and sped down the hall way. Everyone stopped and staggered back, the gust of wind strong. Still angry at John and even Bella, Pietro stopped and ran back, sending another strong gust of wind at the team. He watched as half of the team fell onto their butts and it made him burst out into laughter.

Alyce hit him on the chest and he zoomed out of the lower levels of the Mansion, his laughter echoing in the air.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**: Left Behind

Alyce was finding out the hard way that if Remy wasn't around to force feed her, then she couldn't eat at all. For the past couple of minutes, Alyce was watching as Pietro gobbled down two whole burgers and a milkshake. He could just work it off in under a matter of seconds, so it wasn't surprising that he kept eating after he was done. Just watching him was giving Alyce an upset stomach.

"You're not hungry?" Pietro asked, his mouth full of food. He held out a wrapped burger toward her but Alyce shook her head. He shrugged and peeled back the wrapper, scarfing down the burger in three giant bites.

"How can you even eat? Are you not even the least bit depressed over Bella?" The only reason Alyce even asked this was, she didn't want to be alone in her small state of depression. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself getting sad. Alyce noticed Pietro stopped eating and began to sip his milkshake.

"It may seem like I'm not. I am upset over it, but what can I do? If she likes someone else I can't help that."

"What happened to the playboy-esque lifestyle? The whole, 'I could get any girl I wanted.'"

Pietro chuckled and set down his milkshake. "My lifestyle changed when I met you and Bella. Look, to be honest with you, I'm still in shock over things. Later on it's going to hit me and it's going to hit me hard. Who knows, maybe later on we'll all get over this."

Alyce smiled softly to Pietro. She traced her finger on a few drops of water that fell from her cup onto the table. Before she could realize what she was making, her finger was tracing out the shape of a heart. Quickly, Alyce smudged her hand over it. Even though Pietro and her were mutants, right now both of them felt like more like regular people. Everyone got their heart broken sometime during their life, and it was happening to them.

"Do you think we should talk to them? All of us together?" Alyce asked. She took a sip from her water and waited for Pietro to swallow the mass amount of food he had in his mouth.

"If we all get together, I would want to kill that Pyro of yours."

"He's not mine, anymore."

"Don't say it like that. You look sad enough. Do they even know about...._us?"_ Pietro sighed and went back to his milkshake. Here they where talking about John and Bella, but all those months back they had shared a kiss and the same bed as well. "We all have our secrets, Alyce. Theirs just came out first."

Alyce placed both of her hands on the table and placed her head down. She let out a sigh. This was just one big day time soap opera. "Whose to say they won't get just as equally mad over our secret?"

"Alyce. _Seriously_. What happened with us happened _months_ ago. I just caught them in bed with each other _yesterday_. You found out they were kissing _days_ ago. You see the difference? Besides, back then I hadn't even started liking Bella. It wasn't cheating, you weren't even with John."

"I get it. Still, I just feel stupid with the way I'm acting."

"You feel stupid because you had your heart broken? Give it a few more days and we can cry on both of each other's shoulders." Pietro chuckled and smiled. At least Alyce was smiling too. Right now they just had to keep their significant others off of each others mind. Later on was when they could worry about confronting the two over it. "Maybe this was heaven sent?"

"What do you mean?" To Alyce it was anything but heaven sent.

"You know, like, telling us we need to take a break from them."

Alyce shrugged. "I don't know. If you see it like that then I suppose." Alyce looked around the cafeteria upon hearing a loud cheer. At the large bulletin board in the cafeteria a group of student were busy cheering at the tops of their lungs. Looks like they had won the first rounds of Emma's try outs and would be going onto round two.

"What's that all about?" Pietro asked. He gathered up the wrappers on the table and scrunched them up all together.

"Ending of round one." Alyce answered, still watching the kids who cheered. A number of them where lanky looking kids, with a few others who looked down right scary. She never seen some of them before, it just showed how much time she spent with the X-Team, only. Alyce decided that later on she would go talk to some of them, seeing as how soon, a few of them where going to be her enemies. Alyce got up from seat and pushed in her chair.

"Where you off too?" Pietro got up as well, taking with him his tray with all sorts of litter on it.

"I'm guessing round two is about to start in a few hours. I was thinking we could head off to the Danger Room?"

Pietro walked to a nearby garbage can and threw the trash on his tray away. He placed the red tray onto the top of the can and began to finish off his milkshake. "We just left there."

"It'll be fine. Look how many kids are already flocking down to the lower levels. The chances of us bumping into the team are slim to none."

Pietro smiled and threw his cup into the trash. "I love how you think."

*

*

Emma Frost was having _fun_. Not that she wasn't already, with destroying the lives of the X-Team, but this was a more _adult_ type of fun. Here she was in a room and the feisty Wolverine was with her. Feisty in the sense that he just wasn't giving into her womanly charm. Emma just was finding this as a challenge. She pushed her chest harder onto Logan and smiled.

"Is it because I'm not a certain red head?" She whispered, she traced her fingers over his arms.

Logan rolled his eyes and gently pushed Emma away from him. "Nothing personal, lady." He mumbled, fixing his belt buckle that Emma had tried to take off. This woman was acting so slutty. It was like her personality changed completely around. This definitely wasn't the same Emma he saw the first day. Sure she did wink at him suggestively, but the way she was starting to dress and act. The way she was changing, she was acting as if this school was already hers.

Emma smoothed out her hair and smiled, fixing up her corset. "You know, I can just make you believe that I have red hair, if it matters so much...."

"Go take your shenanigans somewhere else. I'm not interested." Logan mumbled and smoothed out his shirt. Who knew what this woman would do to him. He wasn't planning on finding out. He made his way out of the room, walking into the lower levels and pushing past the mass array of kids. Emma let out a huff. She was going to get one of them down to her level soon enough. If it wasn't going to be Logan, then it was going to be Scott Summers.

Flicking her hair over her shoulders, Emma walked out of the room. Every kid cheered and hooted. The second round of the try outs where going to begin. Emma raised her hands in the air and everyone grew quiet. She almost had all the power in the school and soon everyone would bow down to her feet.

"Everyone! Thanks for coming to witness the second round of my tryouts. If everyone will line up near the Danger Room in an orderly fashion, we can get this going!" She smiled and everyone chuckled, they did as they were told and everyone shuffled in line. Emma walked down the hallway and caught the eyes of both Alyce and Pietro. She smiled at them politely, but Pietro gave her the finger and Alyce just glared.

"How are you two holding up?" Emma stopped and chatted. She watched as Pietro placed a hand on Alyce's shoulder. The girl wanted to claw at Emma so badly. "I guess that means good?" Emma laughed as she walked continued to make her way down the hall.

"What a bitch. Why did the Professor even hire her?" Pietro patted Alyce's shoulder.

"No idea....." Alyce growled. She stepped out of the way as a student made out of rock passed her. She leaned up against the wall and pulled Pietro with her. She watched as the kid made his way into the Danger Room, followed by a few others. "You want to go watch?"

"Heh, can we join? I need to let off some steam." Pietro pushed himself off the wall and cracked his. Alyce slapped the back of her hand on his chest.

"Do you want to join Emma's team? Then be my guest."

Pietro sighed and lowered down his hands. "You know I don't want to..."

"So then shut up and let's go inside......to _watch_."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**: End Of Small Sanctuary

Pietro pulled Alyce out of the way just in time before a gigantic rock came her way. She staggered into Pietro's arms completely unaware of what was happening. Emma had the brilliant idea of putting the seats to the tryouts, _inside_ the training room. Everyone cheered as the action kept on happening. Alyce pulled herself out of Pietro's grip and looked at him with a funny look.

"What? I saved you." Pietro rolled his eyes. "Talk about ungrateful." Pietro watched as Alyce fixed her shirt. She looked up at him with annoyance.

"It's a simulation. It would've disappeared as soon as it touched me."

"Fine, see if I save you again next time."

The two made their way back to their seats, receiving strange looks from the people around them. Everyone knew they couldn't get hurt, but they found it funny how Pietro reacted. He practically pulled the girl by her shirt and hauled her into his arms. A few of them still chuckled but as soon as Pietro glared their way, they stopped. Fixing his jeans, Pietro sat back down in his seat and continued to look around the huge mass of students. All the way on the other side of the room, sat Bella. And who was she next to? None other than John Allerdyce. Pietro gritted his teeth and turned his attention back to Alyce.

"Bella is sitting next to John." He whispered over to her. Alyce shrugged her shoulders and rested her elbow on her knee. She propped her chin up on her hand and continued to watch the fighting between the two opposing teams. Pietro nudged her. "Didn't you hear me?"

"What do you want me to do, Pietro? I could care less where they sit." Alyce let out a whistle as the fighting in front of her began to grow more interesting. She clapped her hands, her happy mood catching Pietro off guard. He grabbed onto her and pulled her in close.

"Stop pretending that you don't care."

She shrugged out of his grip and plopped her face onto her hand. "I never said I didn't care. You're the one who said '_If she likes someone else I can't help that_.' If John likes someone else I can't help that either."

Pietro let out a sigh and leaned on the seat behind him. "You're being a little.....hopeless."

Alyce let out a fake laugh and looked back at Pietro. "Really, me? I guess I'm just more laid back about things." Alyce turned her attention back to where it was before. She was laid back, but according to Piotr, she worried to much. She just didn't feel like showing how she felt, she didn't want to be a mopey broken hearted teen. She wanted to be Alyce. Hard core, in your face, I don't give a shit, Alyce.

Pietro let out a sickening burp and Alyce looked back at him. "What's wrong with you?" She asked, worried. His face was pale and he slapped his hand over his mouth. "Pietro?" He pointed next to Alyce and she turned her head.

"Hi, Alyce!" Beamed Kitty.

Alyce looked back to Pietro and began to laugh. Kitty had phased through him to get next to her. No wonder, he was now beginning throwing up. Alyce massaged his back as he hunched forward and began to throw up all the food he ate at lunch. Alyce tapped her foot on the floor and a black mass formed under Pietro. At least nothing was getting dirty.

"Hey, Kitty. Long time no talk." Alyce smiled. Kitty hopped in her seat happily and giggled. What was she so happy about?

Kitty chuckled at the look Alyce was giving her. "Guess what!" She moved around in her seat excitingly. "Well, c'mon guess."

What could Kitty be excited about? Alyce had no idea. "I'm clueless, Kit. Do tell."

Kitty smiled and placed both of her hands on Alyce's shoulders. "Avey said he'll join the X-Team!"

"What?!" Both Alyce and Pietro said in unison. Alyce quickly formed a bottle of water with her powers and handed it over to Pietro. He sipped it and spit it out into the black mass that lay next to his boots. There was no way, _no way_, Dominikos, of all people, would join that team. Both Alyce and Pietro knew that. Either Kitty brainwashed him, or Avalanche was just _really_ that in love.

"I know, right! I couldn't believe it myself either!" Kitty smiled once more before turning back to look around the seating area. Her face grew stern as she leaned in next to Alyce. "Why aren't you guys sitting with us back there?"

"Because, we're sitting over here, Kitty." Alyce said matter-o-factly. Kitty just continued to give her a stern look.

"Who cares if you guys are having problems with each other. Rogue and I....even Jubilee miss you, Alyce." Kitty leaned forward in her seat and shot a look at Pietro. "You too, Pie."

Pietro finished sipped the rest of his water and tapped Alyce on her shoulder for more. She took the bottle in her hands and shook it around softly, more water sloshing into it. He took another sip of the icy liquid and gave Kitty a raised eyebrow. "I highly doubt you girls miss me."

"Bella does. She keeps crying every five minutes." Kitty watched as the two of them tensed up. Guess it was a bad idea to ask them to sit with her. Kitty sighed and pushed her brown hair behind her ears. She shrugged and got up from her seat, waving, as she made her way back to her seat.

"You know what....fuck it. Let's go." Pietro got up from his seat and grabbed Alyce by her arm.

*

*

Bella wanted to rest her head on John's shoulder so bad. She was tired. Her eyes hurt from all the crying she had been doing and her stomach was empty. She was weak. Bella didn't want to rest her head on John's shoulder, what if Alyce would see them? Or Pietro? She couldn't afford to get into more trouble. She hadn't spoken to Alyce in two whole days, neither did John. It was killing her inside. She hadn't even see her. Bella played with the tissue in her hands. She could feel another crying scene happening. Kitty greeted her as she sat back in her seat.

"I tried." Kitty whispered to Bella. "They just don't want to come over here."

"Alyce is here? With Pietro?" Bella asked, quickly looking around. She couldn't find them, it shouldn't be so hard to spot a head full of white hair.

"Sorry, Bella." Kitty pouted.

"It's ok." Bella patted Kitty's shoulder and continued to look around. She stood up to get a better view, and then she saw them. Pietro dragging Alyce through the crowd by her arm. Alyce stopped and swinged her arm out of Pietro's grip. Bella couldn't tell what was happening but it looked like Alyce was arguing with Pietro. He argued back and went to grab her arm again but she took a step back. She turned around and began to walk back to her seat when Pietro grabbed her once more. Bella quickly patted John on his shoulder.

"What?" John asked, obviously annoyed that Bella had distracted him from the the fighting. He pushed her hand away from him, but she still kept tapping his shoulder. Angrily, he grabbed onto Bella's hand and forced her back down into her seat. "_What."_ He asked, more firmly than the last time.

Bella didn't have time to bicker with him. She pointed over to where she saw Alyce and soon John was just as interested as she was. The two of them were in a heated argument and John was just dying to find out why. It had been the first time he had seen Alyce in two days. He wanted to sit her down and tell her to stop being a baby about Bella and him kissing. It was months ago. But in a way, John could understand why she was upset. Bella had to explain why, he wasn't so good at girly things.

"What do you think is happening?" Bella asked him in a hush hush tone. He shrugged his shoulders and kept looking. It seemed as if Pietro wanted to take Alyce somewhere, and she just didn't want to go. John reached for his lighter and began to play with it. He could feel his over protective side switching on. Suddenly the two disappeared from where they stood. Where did they go?

"Oh my god!" Bella shrieked, getting back up from her seat. The rest of the X-Team did the same. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"Well! It looks like we have two new competitors!" Emma shouted over the loud speaker with a giggle.

There, right in the middle of the fighting competition stood Alyce and Pietro.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**: Block Mind

"What the _fuck_ is your problem!" Alyce spat as she took a step back. Her back bumped with Pietro's and the two stood together, all around them different students fighting it out to go onto the final round.

"We both need to get our mind off of what's going on, and this is the perfect way." Pietro zoomed out into the chaos and began to fight the different people around him. Alyce's hair flew into her face as Pietro zoomed around her. She wobbled back, her body going off balance as the floor under her began to shake. Pietro had seriously done the worse thing he could possibly do. Alyce looked around her, trying to find a way out, but it was nearly impossible. Not with different events going on all around her.

Alyce was suddenly hit, sending her flying and hitting the floor with a thud. Her body slid a few feet before she reached out a clawed hand and dug it into the ground, making her stop. Alyce got up, wincing at the pain her shoulder was giving off.

"C'mon. Let's fight, or are you to much of a girl to do anything?"

Alyce looked around, not sure where the voice was coming from. It was when she saw a large rock coming toward her, she knew who it was. It was the same kid made out of rock that pushed passed her in the hallway.

"I don't even know you! I'm not fighting you." Alyce massaged her shoulder and continued to try to find a way out. She began to walk when a big rocky hand slammed into her chest. She was picked up off the floor and her face met her captor.

"My name is Santo Vaccarro AKA Rockslide. You know me now!"

Alyce groaned as Santo brought his other rocky hand and slapped it onto her back. This kid was made out of rock, no, something much more harder. He was made out of Granite. How could she hurt someone made out of that?! Quickly, Alyce formed a sharp pointy blade from her hand, she forced her arm out, but still she couldn't get out of his grip. She could feel the blade sink into his rock hard body, but he just wasn't budging.

Santo let out a small chuckle as he threw Alyce on the floor, he slammed his foot down, the shock wave sending Alyce right back up into the air. Ignoring the pain in her body, Alyce summoned one of her tentacles. It grabbed onto her and brought her back down on solid ground. It pushed her back as Santo's large hand came slamming onto the floor.

"Do you really want to join Emma's team that bad?" Alyce called out to Santo. She sent her black tentacles out and they latched onto Santo, pinning him to the ground. What Emma had going on here was just strictly inhumane. Having everyone fight against each other, just to be on her team. It was an all out civil war amongst the students.

"You got this, Alyce?" Pietro suddenly appeared. He looked down at his shirt and groaned. "Goddammit, I just had this pressed yesterday!"

Before Alyce could respond (she did need _some_ help) Pietro had dashed back off, no doubt beating up the kid who messed up his freshly pressed shirt. Alyce turned her attention back to Santo, who was busy kissing the floor. She was ready to send him up into the air, when a cold substance wrapped around her body.

"Leave Santo alone!" Came a voice whispering into her ear. Alyce looked back, her eyes meeting a a girl with red hair and shiny metallic looking skin. Alyce rolled her eyes sent one of her black tentacles straight for the girls face.

Alyce was let go, but when she landed it wasn't on a solid floor, but in the same metallic liquid the girl was made out of. A pair of hands slide up Alyce's legs and dragged her half way into the floor. The liquid around her shifted back into the girl.

"I know you don't know me either...." The girl smiled as Alyce's tentacles left Santo's body. "But my name is Cessily Kincaid....but you can call me Mercury."

Alyce slapped her hands on the floor, a black mass forming around her body. She was literally waist deep inside the floor and no matter how hard she lifted herself up she couldn't get out. Not even with her powers. Alyce looked back up to Cessily, a boot kicking her on the side of her face.

"Let her up, Cess." Santo smiled, watching as Alyce laid her back onto the floor, her hands flying up to her face.

"Are you sure, Santo?" Cessily mercury filled eyes looked up to her best friend. She shrugged and her body turned into liquid. The puddle slithered around Alyce and soon Alyce's body was up out of the ground. Alyce turned on her side, her hand covering her nose. Either this girl made of mercury broke her nose, or the kick just really, _really_, hurt. Alyce growled, ready to slam her hand on the floor and send sharp spikes at the two. Her hand never touched the floor, Pietro had picked her up and was now running across the Danger Room.

"I thought you had those two?" Pietro asked finally stopped and setting down Alyce. Alyce checked her hand for blood, but didn't notice anything. She patted her nose to check if it was broken, but it was still in place.

"I had them!" Alyce spat in anger. It was Pietro who got her into this in the first place. She staggered her way out of Pietro's grip, the crowd's cheering deafening her. Pietro grabbed her arm and pulled her back to his side.

"You were getting your ass beat! Wake up Alyce, stop being the sad little broken hearted girl and FIGHT!"

"You want me to fight, huh?!" Alyce shouted back, rage in her voice. "Fine! Watch me take out every single person in this fucking room!" Alyce clenched her fists and made her way into the middle of the room, she hunched over and growled. Everyone began to scream in horror as hundreds of flicking black tentacles swished around the air. She took a step back and her tentacles swished around the room, slapping anything in it's path. She was going to show Pietro she wasn't a "sad little broken hearted girl".

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed onto Alyce's head sending a powerful wave of telekinetic energy into her brain. Alyce brought her hands up, grabbing onto the person's arms. She felt her power subside, her body relaxing. It felt was if someone had sedated her. As if she was almost in a euphoric state of mind. Alyce looked up to the ceiling of the Danger Room, the colours of the lights shifting and turning into clouds. She blinked once more, the regular Danger Room in sight, but with another blink, she saw a blue sky and white puffy clouds. She could hear birds chirping.

"_Focus on my voice, Alyce....."_

Alyce blinked madly, the ceiling changing back and forth, until she blinked once more and it stood as the blue sky.

"_You don't have to prove anything to anyone, anymore...."_

Alyce blinked and looked down. Her eyes met a pair of matching blues. Alyce struggled to think on who this woman was. This woman who had her hands around her face and was putting her at ease. Who was this woman? Alyce blinked and tried to focus her eyes on the woman in front of her. Then it hit her....this woman....who she was.

Emma Frost.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**: Breeze - In Monochrome Night

_Alyce plopped herself down onto the ground. She ran her around over the wet blades of grass, collecting the dew on her fingertips. Her hand resting on the ground, the wet soil cool against her hot hand. Alyce giggled, a lady bug crawling over her hand and settling itself on her finger. She brought her hand up to her face and looked at the tiny ladybug. It fluttered away on the breeze and Alyce smiled._

_She was at a lake. She got up from where she sat and patted her jeans. Only a few feet away lay the most beautiful blue body of water she had ever seen in her life. The sun glistened on it's small waves and she could make out little fishes swimming along. A few feet away, under a gigantic tree was a small wooden dock. Alyce turned around, looking at the rest of the field. It spanned for miles on each end, the only thing different was the large oak tree and the dock. _

_In the distance, her eyes caught four figures. She struggled to make them out but she couldn't. She could hear laughter. Alyce took a step forward, frowning. Every step she took, she couldn't get out of the same spot. It was like she was stuck. Alyce looked up to the four figures walking toward her. _

_She called out, but no voice came to her lips. She tried again, harder this time, but still no words. Alyce touched her throat and sighed. Why couldn't she talk? _

_The laughter grew louder and Alyce was looking at herself. She was looking at herself, Bella, John and Pietro. How could she be over there with Bella, if she was here? Stuck in this grassy spot. Alyce tried to take a step forward, but to no avail. Looking up from her shoes, Alyce watched as Bella swung around a picnic basket, and suddenly all four were at the dock. Alyce tried to call out again, this time screaming, but still no words escaped her. She felt her eyes begin to water watching all of them sit together. At least they were all happy. _

_Alyce sat back down on the grass and watched as John began to bother Bella. Pietro and 'Alyce' laughed. It felt weird looking at herself. But she was content, she wouldn't mind sitting here for the rest of her life, if she knew they were all going to be happy. Just like old times. Alyce felt something move under her hand. Was it another ladybug? Alyce looked down to the ground and quickly pulled her hand back. _

_The ground was turning into a black mush, the grass getting swallowed up into it. The wet dew on top of them turning into a slick black liquid. Something fell on Alyce's face, and she looked up at the sky. A deep crimson red was swallowing up the blue, and the white clouds were turning black. The rain drops falling on her face, black. She wiped at her face, and got up calling out to the group of four. She looked in horror as Pietro threw 'Alyce' into the water. She could see herself drowning, and right now where she stood she could feel as if she was underwater. Alyce gripped at her throat, screaming out to Pietro._

_He vanished and Alyce looked at the lake, nothing but bubbles coming to the top. The blue colour fading out to gray. Frantic, Alyce's eyes searched for John and Bella. She screamed out to them, the two holding hands looking over the dock and into the water. They smiled at each other and turned around to kiss one another. _

_What was happening?!_

_Alyce looked around, there had to be someone that could. Anyone. Anything. _

_And there, to her right, Emma Frost. The grass she stepped on grew back into it's gorgeous green colour, flowers springing up. Emma stuck out her hand toward Alyce. _

_NO! Alyce wanted to shout. Save them! Not me, them!" But still, no words. Emma kept her hand out, her face smiling. Reluctantly, Alyce placed her hand. She looked at Emma, a piercing white light blinding her eyes......_

_*_

_*_

Alyce shot up out of bed, her hands scrambling at her throat and her lungs burning for oxygen. She looked around, the scenery familiar. She was in the infirmary, and once she realized she wasn't dreaming anymore her heart began to calm down. Alyce slowly took in small breaths, trying to get her breathing back to normal. Alyce kept her hands at her throat, thinking that if she did let go, she would drown.

"It was just a dream..." Alyce murmured to herself. Slowly, she let her hands fall onto her lap. She rubbed her eyes and shook her head, trying to get the images she just imagined out of her head. Did everything she see, have a double meaning to it? Confused, Alyce dropped her head into her hands.

"No! I want to see Alyce!" The sound of Bella's voice was heard outside of the infirmary. Alyce could hear some tussling and then everything went quiet.

"You've done _enough_, already. You two should just run along." It was Emma. Alyce pulled the blanket off of her and slipped out of bed. But she stopped. What was she going to do? Tell Emma to go away? Tell Bella? John?

"Let me see her!" Bella shouted once more.

"No!"

Alyce jumped upon hearing the door to the infirmary open. It closed just as soon as Emma made her way into the door, her face equally shocked upon seeing Alyce up. Quickly, Emma walked toward Alyce and guided her back to the infirmary bed. Alyce wasn't in the mood to fight with her, she was almost felt grateful that Emma was putting her back to bed.

"Are you feeling ok?" Emma asked softly. Why was this woman being nice to her all of a sudden? Alyce stood quiet, afraid to talk. She laid back down on the bed and let her head be guided to the pillow. Alyce closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.

"You had a bad dream didn't you? At least you're awake now. I carried you here from the Danger Room."

"Did....i-s.......Bella?" Alyce finally spoke, frustrated that she was still shaken up from her nightmare. She looked over to Emma, searching for an answer. Emma gave her a smile.

"Everyone is fine. No one is hurt. Alyce, I know this may not seem like the right time....but I feel if I waited to ask you, something could happen."

"What do you mean?" Alyce asked, alarmed. She sat back up in bed, she inched back from Emma as if the woman had some sort disease. Just because she helped Alyce out of the Danger Room and brought her to the infirmary didn't mean she could trust her. What if Emma made Alyce dream of everything she just saw in her mind? What if......_What if. _It was the only thing playing over in Alyce's head, now. All the possibilities of what Emma could do to her.

"I'm here to give you a choice." Emma spoke. "An olive branch, signaling peace between you and I. Here's what I ask....Do you want to join my team?"

Alyce couldn't believe what she was hearing. This had to be another dream. Alyce gripped at the sheets under her, they felt real enough. She ran her hand through her hair and touched her trembling lips. Everything felt real. Alyce was awake. What Emma was asking her was real. Did Alyce wake up behind the mirror? Everything felt backwards. Alyce met Emma's eyes and took in a breath.

"Do I want to join your team?"


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**: Wasted Confusion

Dizzily, Alyce walked through the halls of the Mansion. She just wanted to rest in a nice comfortable bed. Was that too much to ask for? It was when your cousin was sleeping in the same room you used to share. Was Alyce being childish, not wanting to speak with Bella or John? Just thinking about it was making Alyce more tired than what she already was. Her shoulder still ached from when Santo slammed her across the room, and her nose still buzzed with pain.

Alyce began to blink fast, tunnel vision forming in her line of sight. Shaking her head, Alyce leaned against a nearby wall and tried to steady herself. She shouldn't have left the infirmary so quickly but she was willing to suffer so she wouldn't have to be around Emma Frost. Another questioned blasted itself into Alyce's mind. Why did Emma want her to join? They were supposed to hate each other, but now Emma was just being nice. It was most likely part of a bigger plan that Emma had in store.

"You ok?"

Alyce nodded her head to whoever this person was. It was obviously a girl, but Alyce feared that if she opened her eyes she was just going to black out. Alyce felt a hand go on her shoulder and another around her waist.

"I'm fine, thanks." Alyce answered, trying to get out of this person's grip. The girl tightened her grip on Alyce's waist and the two began to walk down the hall.

"You don't look so fine. I'm guessing you don't want to go to your room, 'cause of Bella and what not. Lucky I don't have a roommate."

Alyce was in no position to protest. She just wanted to lay down, later on she could figure out who this person was who helped her wobble down the hall. The pair stopped after a few steps and Alyce heard a door opening. The girl guided Alyce to a bed and settled her down.

"Thanks..." Alyce mumbled, plopping her head down onto the pillow. This had to be the best feeling in the world, to rest.

"Do you want me to turn off the lights?" The girl asked.

"If you don't mind." The lights turned off and Alyce rolled on her side, digging her face into the pillow.

"I'll be back later, I'll get you some food too. See you later, Alyce."

Alyce nodded her head and listened as the door closed. So it was obviously someone who knew her. It couldn't be Kitty, this girl was the same height as her, if not a bit taller. As much as Alyce loved Kitty, she knew Kitty wouldn't be able to support her down the hall. It couldn't be Rogue because there was no accent, and it most definitely wasn't Bella. Bella always smelled of lavender. Alyce rolled onto her back and slowly opened her eyes. She looked over to the other side of the room, trying to figure out who it was.

Jubilation Lee.

*

*

After Jubilee had ate her dinner she carefully began the trek of walking back to her room. It wouldn't have been so hard if she was balancing two plates full of food. She didn't know what Alyce liked so she just brought one of everything that was on the menu. The entire time Jubilee walked back to her room she was wondering why she was being so nice to Alyce. Maybe it was because of what Alyce did for her when they all stood at her house. Or maybe it was because Alyce had given her advice for Bobby. Which got her to think, did Alyce know about Bella and Bobby?

Jubilee pushed open her door with her rear and walked into her room. She quickly placed the two plates on her desk and looked around the room for Alyce. She wasn't in her bed and it wasn't until Jubilee heard the shower running that it clicked.

"Hey, Alyce! I'm back!" Jubilee shouted and plopped herself on her computer chair. It felt nice to finally have a roommate again, even if Alyce wasn't going to stay. Her last roommate, the two didn't just get along and after one week the girl packed up her stuff and moved to another room. It didn't bother Jubilee but after a while she missed seeing someone else in the room. It was always her. She would come back to her room and either read, or go on her computer. When Remy broke up with her, all she did was stay in her room for about a week straight, only coming out to eat.

Alyce came out of the shower, towel drying her hair. "Hope you don't mind, I used your shower. I made everything I used, so I didn't touch any of your stuff."

"It's fine, you could've used my stuff." Jubilee clicked on her mouse, smiling up to Alyce briefly before she started typing "You're food is on the other desk."

"Sweet, thanks a lot." Alyce walked across the room, new clothes forming around her body and replacing the old ones she was wearing. She plopped down back on her bed and pulled the two plates to her, hungrily digging in. "Thanks for helping me out earlier."

"No problem. It's the least I can do, you did help me before, so I kinda owe 'ya one." Jubilee clicked a few more keys on her keyboard and swiveled her chair around. "I didn't know what you would like, so I got you everything."

"Mmmhmm." Alyce smiled through a mouth full of food. Jubilee giggled and waited as Alyce swallowed what she was eating. "It's awesome." Alyce said again, smiling. She looked over towards Jubilee's computer, curious.

"Writing an E-mail?"

Jubilee nodded and gave Alyce a smile. It was weird to see Jubilee happy, but Alyce guessed it had to happen sometime. "An old friend of mine, Alison Blaire. She and Storm were the ones who found me in a mall and brought me here."

"She sounds pretty cool." Alyce sipped at the soda that Jubilee had brought for her. It was getting a bit warm so Alyce opened up the top on the cup. She clenched her hands together and formed a few ice cubes, they plopped into the soda and Alyce continued to drink.

"With that kind of a power, who needs Bobby to chill up your drinks." Jubilee laughed. Jubilee suddenly stopped laughing, her face growing serious. She still liked Bobby, but now with Alyce in the room she was thinking about Bella. Bella and Bobby, kissing in the living room that one night. "Alyce, can I ask you something?"

Alyce let out a small burp and placed her cup back down on the desk. "Sure, anything. What's up."

"Well, it's more than one thing, but, doesn't Bella go out with that white haired kid?"

Alyce shrugged. "Some stuff have been going on, I'm not even sure myself."

"I saw her kissing Bobby a few nights ago, you know when you told me to go tell Bobby how I felt."

Alyce sighed. She didn't need to hear anymore about Bella or what she was doing. If she was going out with John and kissing Bobby behind his back that was a whole other drama. "So you didn't tell Bobby?" Alyce asked, completely ignoring the Bella thing.

"No, but I have an idea." Jubilee thought about bringing up more about Bella, but Alyce didn't look like she was in the mood to hear about it. Even Jubilee felt bad for Bella, all she did now in class was cry whenever she looked at Alyce's empty seat. Jubilee shook the thoughts out of her mind and continued to what she was going to say. "You know how Bobby is going to go on Emma's team?"

"You're going to join it to impress him, aren't you?" Alyce smiled as Jubilee nodded, surprised that Alyce knew what she was thinking. She began to finish off her food and watched as Jubilee went back to her computer.

"You think I should? Like, I know Emma is a bitch and all---"

"Jubes, if you like a guy then go for it. It's better to try than to regret not trying too."

"Thanks, Alyce. I appreciate that." Jubilee smiled as she typed away on her keyboard. It looks like Jubilee owed Alyce another favour since she helped her out again. Starting tomorrow when it was time to go to class, Jubilee wasn't going to go with the rest of the X-Team. She was going to accept Emma's invitation and begin her first day on Emma's team. Jubilee looked back at Alyce, who was busy dropping her plates into one of her trademarked black masses.

Maybe Alyce would go with her too.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**: A Debt To The Devil, Alyce Must Pay

Alyce was woken up with a shove. Jubilee snatched the sheets away from Alyce's body and forced her to get up. She guided Alyce to the bathroom and closed the door, leaving Alyce standing half asleep.

"C'mon! You don't want to be late do you?" Jubilee called out to Alyce. She listened at the door before she heard the shower running. Jubilee wanted Alyce to come with her to Emma's classes, she didn't want to be alone. She decided that she could tell Alyce where they going until _after_ they sat down in the class room. Which defeated the person of telling her, when Alyce would find out on her own eventually.

Jubilee sat down on her bed and laced up her boots. She watched as Alyce left the bathroom, fully dressed with her hair already done.

"You're quick." Jubilee smiled grabbing onto her book bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Powers..." Alyce mumbled, still half asleep. She let herself be dragged out of the room and down the hall. Alyce wasn't aware of how early it was, and she figured if she did she would just turn around and go right back to sleep. But she didn't have anything planned for the day, so if Jubilee had something up her sleeve then why not? Alyce let out a yawn and wiped her still sleepy eyes as Jubilee pushed her into a nearby classroom. Opening her eyes, Alyce groaned.

There was Santo Vaccarro and Cessily, the two who had double teamed Alyce. They locked their eyes on Alyce and surprisingly gave Alyce a meek smile. Because she was still tired, and just wanted to get to her desk to sleep, Alyce smiled back. She noticed the class was pretty much empty, besides Santo, Cessily, Jubilee, Bobby and....Toad.

Wait. What classroom was this?

Alyce turned around and looked at the board. There, with bigger than life strokes, was Emma Frost's name. What did Jubilee drag her into? Alyce was ready to leave the classroom when Toad jumped in her way. She quickly slapped her hands over her nose and sent one of her tentacles after Toad. It grabbed him and pushed him to the back of the class, surrounding him and leaving him in a glass case.

"Not again, Alyce. C'mon! I just wanted to say hi."

Alyce walked up to the glass and sighed. "Morty, you kinda stink." She shrugged and gave him an apologetic look. He signed and tapped the glass, just like last time asking for a pair of air holes. Alyce nodded and a couple of small holes appeared on the glass.

"Thank God! He really smelled. Thanks a lot, Alyce." Cessily got up from her seat and made her way toward Alyce. She stuck out her mercury made hand and smiled. "We got off on the wrong foot in the Danger Room."

"Good fight, though. You and Santo are a good team." Alyce smiled, fanning her hand next to her face to get rid of Mortimer's smell. She shook Cessily's hand and waved over to Santo. The whole fight was part of the try outs. It's not like the two of them had a personal vendetta against her.

"You can call me Cess, but yea. It's going to be fun teaming up with you. We kinda have the same power. Just I don't make things, like you do."

Alyce looked up to Cessily with a questioning look, as she sat down at a nearby desk. "What do you mean?"

Cessily laughed and pushed her red hair behind her silver ears. "You _are_ joining Emma's team aren't you?"

Angrily, Alyce looked over to Jubilee who was talking to Bobby. She looked back up to Cessily who was already walking back to her seat. Trying to find an answer, Alyce looked back at Mortimer, who was busy cleaning his ear with his tongue. He shrugged and tapped the glass. "I'm in here, remember. I got 'nuffin."

Alyce got up from her seat and tapped Jubilee on the shoulder. Just when she thought the two of them were getting along, she pulled this little stunt. "What's the deal?" Alyce asked.

"What? I just brought you to class." Jubilee answered, she blushed and glanced over at Bobby, hoping Alyce would understand.

"Right, _you_ have fun." Alyce growled.

"Cat Fight, mmeee-owwwww!" Mortimer called out from his glass case. Alyce glared at him and snapped her fingers. The small air holes around the case disappeared and a huge wave of soapy water filled the case. Everyone in the class began to giggle as Mortimer hopped around. He tried his best to not touch the water, but eventually he was sucked down into it and was tumbling like he was in a washing machine.

"Alyce, look, I'm sorry." Jubilee whispered to Alyce as she got up. "I just didn't want to be alone with Bobby. What if something happens?"

"Like what, you guys end up kissing?" Alyce retorted and stared at Jubilee with a stern face. "I told you to chase after him if you wanted, I don't have to chase too, you know."

Jubilee anxiously looked over to Bobby, hoping he wasn't hearing anything Alyce was saying. She grabbed onto Alyce's arm as she walked to leave, stopping her. "Look, please? Just for today? You owe me."

Alyce sighed. She did owe Jubilee. If it wasn't for the sparker Alyce probably would've passed out in the middle of the hallway. Passed out with an empty stomach. Alyce shrugged her arm out of Jubilee's grasp and sat back in her seat.

"Hey! I'm _clean _now." Mortimer shouted, still sloshing around. Alyce rested her head on the desk. Without looking up she made the water disappear and took the glass case that was surrounding Toad, out. He stumbled out, his wet clothes slapping as he made his way back to his seat. He growled as he pushed his hair out of his eyes. He was actually clean. He even smelled like soap. Mortimer shuddered.

"Why not drying me up too, huh?" He shot over to Alyce. She lifted her head up from the table and gave him a stern look, and he turned around in his seat.

Why did Alyce have to be such a nice person? Especially when it came to staying with Jubilee in the room while she flirted with Bobby. This was just utter ridiculous. She should still be in bed sleeping until the late afternoon then wondering around all night. She should be worrying about Bella and wondering if she should talk to her today or not. Not worrying about Emma teaching a class, or worrying about making friends with the rest of her team.

The door to the classroom opened, and Alyce looked up. There with a larger than life smile was Emma Frost. She smiled and looked down at a clipboard in her hands. She looked back up to the class then down to clipboard before sighing.

"Unfortunately, we can't use this classroom this morning." Emma looked back outside the door. "If you will all follow me..." She smiled to everyone in the classroom.

A bit scared, Alyce got up from her seat. They all made their way to the door, when the rest of the X-Team bursted in, not carrying about Emma. Alyce stumbled back, knocking into a desk as she made her way to the back of the class. It was all a mistake that she was in this class, she didn't need everyone thinking she had defected....._again._ Alyce looked up, her eyes locking onto to Bella. Bella looked back, her eyes watering.

Nervously, Alyce looked around the classroom catching Emma.

"_Go ahead, give the girl a piece of your mind." _Emma coyly said into Alyce's head. Alyce shook her head as Bella called out to her and everyone grew silent. The only one who chuckled was Mortimer, not surprising. All Alyce had to do was give him a look and he closed his mouth. Alyce had two ways out of this. Either jump out of the window, or embrace her cousin, who was running toward her.

"_I could do it for you...."_ Emma spoke.

"_You don't need to do anything...."_ Alyce shot back. She stumbled back again as Bella threw herself into her arms.

"Please, _please_ just listen to me." Bella whispered into Alyce's ears. "I'm _sorry."_

Awkwardly, Alyce hugged onto Bella, looking up and meeting the eyes of the rest of the X-Team. Even John, a nervous look plastered in his face. Alyce bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

"_You want me to speak for you?"_

"_NO!"_ Alyce shouted at Emma, but it was too late. She could feel her mouth opening against her will, words creeping up her throat that Alyce had no intention of saying. Alyce hugged onto Bella tightly and lowered her lips down to Bella's ear. Alyce took in a deep breath, looking up to Emma and trying to stop the words from popping out of her mouth.

"You know, Bella....I heard about Bobby....guess one dick isn't enough, is it?"

Bella pushed her self out of Alyce's arms, looking at her with an alarmed look. Bella's face grew red and she could feel the anger form up in her. Did Alyce just really say that to her? Bella looked as Alyce hung her head low, a small smile playing on her lips. Without thinking, Bella brought up her hand sending it straight across Alyce's face.

Alyce staggered back, grabbing onto a nearby desk to settle herself. She rubbed her cheek with her other hand looking at Bella with a surprised look. She couldn't open her mouth to protest and she glared over at Emma, who was busy smiling.

**Emma was _controlling_ her.**

Alyce wanted to burst her powers toward the woman, but her body was locked into Emma's control. She was a puppet.

"How could you say that?!" Bella shouted. She wanted to slap Alyce again, but she clenched her fist and tried to calm down. Alyce had took a shot at her heart. No one could comprehend how she was feeling. Her own cousin, the one that grew up with her, the one that used to defend her from the entire world. This wasn't her cousin anymore, this wasn't Alyce.

Alyce bit onto her tongue, trying to force back the laugh that was creeping up her throat. No, not her laugh. Emma's laugh. Alyce covered her mouth, trying to fight it, but Emma's control was just to much. Before she knew it, she was laughing a big hearty laugh. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see her cousin's reaction, or anyone for that matter.

"How could I, Bella? How could you!" Alyce spoke, giggling, Emma's words forming out of her mouth.

Bella took a step forward and sent her fist straight for Alyce's face, it connected and Alyce fell back into a chair. She still laughed as blood filled her mouth from her busted lip. Alyce watched as Remy pulled Bella back and Emma made her way toward Alyce. She glared at Emma, knowing that as soon as her control over her was done, Alyce was going to send a fist right into Emma's gut. Alyce pressed a hand to her lip as Emma helped her out of her seat and out of the class room. Alyce closed her eyes and tried to get the sound of Bella sobbing out of her head.

"I _**HATE**_ you!" Bella screamed, her voice thundering into Alyce's head.


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**: Her Silent Undoing

Even after class Bella's hand still hurt. When she flexed her palm it stung, and when she clenched her fist her knuckles ached. Her throat hurt from when she screamed at the top of her lungs, her eyes puffy from crying. It's all she ever did now, was cry. She still couldn't believe what Alyce had said. The more she thought about it the more she couldn't believe it. Was Alyce really that mad with her? Bella stopped in the middle of the hall and closed her eyes, trying to focus on her thoughts. How had she heard about Bobby kissing her? No doubt Alyce thought she came onto Bobby, when it was the other way around. Once again, the story was flipped over her head and there was no way of fixing it.

Bella opened her eyes and continued down the hall. She hated being cooped up in this Mansion. Everything that was happening was just making the atmosphere stuffy and suffocating. Bella decided that going outside would be the best choice for her, and once she did get outside her body immediately relaxed.

She walked down the steps of the Mansion and made her way onto the front lawn. She spotted a small gazebo farther down and started walking there. More thoughts sprang to her head. Alyce was really on Emma's team? Or was she just there by accident? Alyce hated Emma, Emma hated Alyce. There was no reason for the two of them to be on such sudden good terms. Bella sat down on the small bench that was in the back of the gazebo and massaged her hand. She didn't _mean_ to hit Alyce, maybe she did want to. Who was she kidding, she meant the hit. But Bella wouldn't have done it if Alyce didn't deserve it.

"Still moping around?" John asked. He had been in the gazebo the entire time. Why? Because he had followed Bella. He knew the girl was going to find some secluded place to cry, didn't she get tired of doing it? She cried so much, John would've thought her tears would run out. Bella looked up at him and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not moping. My hand just hurts is all."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have used it."

Bella twisted her upper body in her seat and looked back at John. "Did you even hear what Alyce said?" She asked. Of course John would still stick up for Alyce, she still was his girlfriend even if they hadn't spoken in three days. Bella shook her head and raised her hand to John, not wanting to hear what he had to say. John just wasn't good at the whole giving advice thing, he acted before he even thought of what to do.

John watched as Bella hung her head in her hands. What was he supposed to say? He didn't know what Alyce had said, things were just over his head. Whatever was happening was only confusing him. He shrugged to himself. "Look, I'm sure whatever Alyce said really ticked you off. This whole thing is just getting stupid."

"No, duh." Bella shot back. "Not only is it getting stupid, but it's getting pulled out of proportion."

"Don't tell me that like it's my fault." John huffed, not liking how Bella was talking to him.

"I'm not saying it is. If anything it's _both_ our faults."

John sighed. There was just no winning with her. John leaned back on the side of the gazebo, his eyes catching a sudden movement next to him. He placed his hand over his chest, stumbling back. Pietro had appeared next to him and was giving him a mock smile.

"_You scared the shit out of me, goddamn."_ John's face read. Another part of John was nervous. Was Pietro here to start a fight with him? If he knew about him and Bella kissing, then he was definitely here to punch him.

"_Calm down...._" Pietro patted John's shoulder. He still didn't like the guy, but he wasn't going to knock his lights out. Not with his little lady sobbing in front of him. It was time to let bygones be bygones. So what if John stole a kiss from his girl. Pietro had stolen a few kisses from _his_ girl as well. They were even now. That was it, problem solved. He was also going to overlook the face that the two had been caught sleeping together, but John was right, they did still have their clothes on. Whatever.

Pietro motioned over to Bella and John nodded, he walked out of the gazebo and Pietro took his spot next to Bella. He placed his arm over her shoulder and she shrugged out of his grip.

"Get off of me, John." Bella sighed. Pietro let out a soft chuckle and pulled her into his arms. She looked up at him with shocked eyes.

"Pietro?" Bella sputtered, not believing her eyes. "What...what are you--"

"I'm here comforting my girl. What else would I be doing?" Pietro gave Bella a soft smile before placing a kiss on her forehead. "I missed you. I'm letting go the fact that you guys were in bed together, I'm sure it was harmless. I over reacted and I'm sorry. I also don't care that you guys kissed--"

"Why is Alyce even overreacting the way she is? I know her, I know my cousin. This should not have even phased her in the way she's acting now. We kissed _months_ ago, when Alyce was at the Brotherhood!"

"What?" Pietro asked, not because he hadn't heard what she said, but out of astonishment. He looked at Bella with a stupid look. "She told me only days."

"Days? How could that even be? Days ago she was either with me or John! How could the two of us kiss--"

"She was under the impression that it was more than that, and so was I when I saw you two in bed."

"Don't cut me off, Pietro Maximoff." Bella gave Pietro a stern look and he smiled awkwardly. She was already back to normal, it seemed. She huffed at him and continued. "This whole thing is revolving around this stupid misconception and it's _stupid_."

"How did Alyce even find out anyway?"

"No idea!"

Pietro sighed and looked at Bella. She really was a blond at times. "I meant that sarcastically. This all started when a certain someone came into the Mansion. Do I have to spell out her name for you?"

Bella crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the white haired rich boy. "I'm not stupid." She glared at Pietro. He did have to spell it for her, not because she was dumb but there were just no names coming into her head. Pietro chuckled. She was noting how extremely laid back he was about everything. She wondered how fast his persona would change if she told him about Bobby making the moves on her.

"Bella, are you even on Earth anymore?"

"Yes, I'm_ thinking._"

Pietro groaned. "It's Emma. Emma Frost. She _is_ a telepath isn't she. Maybe she's warping what Alyce sees and what she is believing. Everything started acting up when she came into the Mansion." Pietro grabbed onto Bella's hands and spun her so that she face him.

"Let's just patch things up with us first. I missed you Bella." He cupped her face into his hands and pulled her in for a kiss but she stopped him.

"I know you're not going to like this.....but....someone made a move on me...."

Pietro sighed and patted Bella's cheeks. She didn't really have to say who it was for him to know. He smiled to Bella and gave her a small kiss on her nose. A certain Iceman was going to get it, and he was going to get it bad. Bella clinged onto his arm and pulled him back down in his seat.

"What are you going to do?" She asked, alarmed.

"What do you think?" Pietro smirked and picked up Bella in his arms. He was going to show Bobby who Bella's man was. Pietro was going to make sure Bobby _never_ forgot who he was for the rest of his entire life.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**: State of Righteous Mind

For Emma it was a wonderful day. Every day was a wonderful day. Every minute, every single second that she was at this Mansion was wonderful. No one could stop what she was planning and before everyone knew what was happening the carpet was going to pulled out from under their feet. When she woke up in the mornings, walking outside of room, she noticed how the students glared at each other. Slowly they were all turning against each other.

The third round of Emma's tryouts started today, and you could feel the anticipation thick in the air. Kids who used to be best friends were now mortal enemies, fighting each other for a spot of Emma's team. The losers of the past events looked at the winners with distaste and the winners looked at the losers with a mocking smile. Kids who usually sat with groups of friends now sat secluded, their groups pushed apart to different sides of the cafeteria. As if that wasn't funny enough, to Emma, the X-Team had it worse.

Their former leader, Bobby Drake, had defected and was now the leader of Emma's team. Jubilee had joined only to be next to Bobby, which Emma thought was a kind of tragic romance. Bobby was already fully under Emma's control and his growing hate for Remy and Rogue intensified with each day. The team were bickering amongst themselves everyday, due to the face that Avalanche had joined. Could they trust someone who worked for Magneto? A few of them, namely Piotr, Kitty and Bella were keeping a low profile.

Emma had Bobby, Jubilee, Santo, Cessily, Mortimer.....and Alyce? Emma wasn't sure about Alyce, for the simple face that her mind was so hard to untangle. She had so many thoughts in her head, and while she looked strong on the outside, her mental state was weak. It was actually pretty depressing. But slowly, _slowly_, Emma was turning Alyce in favour of her side.

What was even _more_ interesting, was the face that none of the teachers were even trying to stop Emma. It would make sense if they did, but they weren't even lifting a finger. The only one who trying was Jean Grey. Her feeble attempts didn't do a thing to dent Emma's plans.

Emma Frost had the entire school in the palm of her hand.

*

*

Avalanche had to remind himself that he was here only for one person. Kitty Pryde. Ok..._maybe_ Pietro had convinced him to come along to the Mansion, but it was mainly for Kitty. Besides, he was sick and tired of being in the dirty Brotherhood house. Wanda and Fred were the only ones left there, and Wanda was enjoying the peace and quiet. Peace and quiet if you referred that to wild parties.

The only thing that Avalanche wasn't liking was the dirty looks he was getting from the rest of the X-Team. He never did anything to them, so why should they look at him so evily? He sat at his desk uncomfortable, the last time he sat in a school desk was four years ago. He was 21, why should he be in a High School in a classroom full of teens? He was a grown adult. If Kitty wasn't 18, he would look like the biggest pedophile out there. Avalanche huffed and turned his attention over to Pietro who was busy cuddling with Bella. Weren't they just split a few days ago?

Ave scratched his head and tussled his long brown hair. He was getting bored sitting in this chair. It was too small for him anyway. He began to rock back and forth in his chair, his motorcycle boots hitting on the floor with a tap.

"Is there a problem, Dominikos?" Ororo asked, stopping her lesson and turning her attention to the Brotherhood mutant.

Before answering, Ave looked over to Pietro and the two shared a devilish grin. They were trouble makers (Ave more than Pietro but nonetheless trouble makers). He stopped rocking in his chair and leaned his elbow on the too small desk.

"I graduated high school _four_ years ago. Tell me why I'm back sitting in a goddamn kiddy class?" A few members of the team chuckled softly. "I feel like a goddamn retard." Avalanche added, giving Ororo a smirk.

She sighed and placed her chalk on her desk, closing her book. "You came to the Mansion, we put you on the team, and now you have to deal with the classes. It's either this....or we can have you _teach._"

Avalanche groaned and ran his hands over his face. "Miss, do I _really_ look like I can teach? This class blows, I don't know how you guys deal with this shit." Avalanche got up from his seat and began to walk out the door. He didn't know how Pietro dealt with this. He turned around and looked at Kitty with a sigh. He could always try again later in another class, history and science were never really his greatest subjects and the woman taught _both. _He stopped at the door and tapped the wall, turning on his heel and giving Ms. Monroe a grin.

"You know what, teach?"

"Yes?"

"I'd rather teach, sign me up!"

*

*

"Ok, listen up you little fuckers. Don't call me Mister, or Sir or any of that bullshit. Either call me Ave, or Avalanche..."

"What about...._Miss_?" Pietro snickered. It was just to hilarious to see Avalanche even attempt to teach a class. Ororo had assigned him to Auto Mechanics in the Garage and seeing him try to teach was comedy gold. Avalanche shot him a glare and gave him the finger. Everyone else was taking this a free period, there was no way in hell Avalanche would assign any homework or _do_ anything for that matter. Of course, Kitty sat in the front row, plopped on the floor her eyes in a daze.

"Shut your mouth, Pietro." Avalanche rolled his eyes and plopped himself on a nearby motorcycle. "To be honest with you, I ain't doin' shit in this class....do whatever."

"Wait! Before we go off and do 'whatever', I have one question." Pietro raised his hand, his face red from laughter. Everyone looked back at him, they all knew Pietro and Avalanche were best friends and no doubt Pietro was going to make Ave's teaching career hell.

"I swear to God, Pi--"

"What's your policy on teacher-student relations?"

Avalanche let out a throaty growl as the entire class erupted into laughter, Kitty's cheeks flushing a bright red. He slammed his foot on the floor and sent a the floor curving, knocking Pietro on his butt. Pietro zoomed up to his best friend and put him in an arm lock, the began to rough house when another team entered the garage.

Another team with a certain ice cold leader. Said leader being the one person Pietro wanted to beat up. The rough housing between the two friends suddenly turned into Avalanche holding back his fried. The rest of the team got up and took their places behind Pietro and Avalanche, ready to back up the two if Emma's team started anything.

Bella's eyes looked at each member, Alyce not in sight. She hid behind Remy, who pulled her to his side as she watched Pietro grow angry.

"Why can't we call just get along?" Emma smiled and placed a hand on Bobby's shoulder. "Pietro you should calm down."

"Fuck you, you white bitch." Pietro growled, Avalanche still holding him back. "Let me go, Dominikos...." Pietro glared at Bobby, who only smirked.

"Oh...so you two want to fight? What fun!" Emma smiled and swished her hand in Avalanche's direction, sending him flying back. She tapped Bobby's shoulder and he ran forward, meeting Pietro halfway with a gigantic clash.

"Pietro!" Bella shouted. Her eyes fluttered to catch Pietro's movements, but all she could see was a blur around Bobby as he ran around. Suddenly, Pietro appeared in front of her he cupped her face with his hands and placed a kiss on her lips.

"I'll-be-done-with-him-in-five-seconds-flat."


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**: Strip, Baby, Strip!

Before the fighting really started, Bella was taken back upstairs by Remy. He plopped her in a nearby classroom and closed the door, simply stating; "That is no place for a lady."

Kitty, Rogue, Jubilee and that weird girl made of metal were down there. So why not her? Bella had seen her share of school fights when she was at her other high school, so why not here? She jumped back from the door, a burst of energy jamming the door shut. "Remy!" Bella yelled in protest, kicking the door and jiggling the doorknob. She sighed and turned around, the class room was completely empty, but it was still under the garage. Looking around mischievously, Bella got down and laid her ear on the floor. If she couldn't see the fight, she wanted to hear it.

*

*

Piotr didn't understand. The fight started with Pietro and Bobby, but now it was also him against Santo. It was like as soon as Pietro and Bobby clashed, Santo charged at the first person he saw, said first person being Piotr. Reacting quickly, Piotr formed his steel over his body and grabbed onto Santo's hands, pushing him back.

"My friend, I have no ill will against you. We should not be fighting."

Santo let out a chuckle as he pushed harder down on Colossus, bringing the mighty Russian mutant to his knees. "It doesn't matter, we're on two different sides of things.....we believe in two different ideologies."

Colossus pushed up, lifting off his knees grabbing onto Santo's arms. He lifted him off the floor and chuckled. "That is true! On two different levels of strength as well!"

Santo's eyes bulged out of his head as Colossus lifted him up higher and threw him across the garage. He got up quickly and ran into Colossus head on as, the two fighting all over again.

Kitty phased as Colossus threw Santo right in her direction, she squeaked and looked at Piotr with an angry look. He shot her an apologetic smile before getting tussled to the ground by the humanoid rocky mass. She looked around the garage, fights bursting out between all of them as Emma watched with a smile on her face. Kitty jumped back as a spark landed next to her feet. She looked up angrily, watching as Jubilee made her way toward Rogue, who had her back turned; facing Remy. Kitty sprang into action. Her hands brushed against Jubilee's shirt, but that was all she needed. She phased Jubilee into the ground.

"Get me outta here, you stupid cat!" Jubilee growled trying to pushed herself out of the floor. Kitty phased up next to her, placing a hand on Jubilee's shoulder as Bobby fell through them. Both Kitty and Jubilee watched as a Pietro pulled Bobby up by his collar and punched him in the stomach.

"Let me out!" Jubilee cried out again. She wanted to help Bobby, she couldn't stand seeing him get beat up by Pietro.

"Jubilee, why are you even fighting us? We're your friends!" Kitty phased both of them out of the floor, but she held onto Jubilee her feet still trapped on the floor.

"Friends? All of you hated me, I have every reason to fight each and every one of you!"

"That's not true. Jubilee, we all tried to be your friend but you were always so distant from us. How could we be your friend when you always shunned us away?" Kitty phased the two again as Bobby shot an ice block into Pietro, sending him flying in their direction. Jubilee held onto Kitty, feeling sick.

"Could you....._please_ stop phasing us..." Jubilee gargled, spitting up a bit of vomit.

"I'm not going to stop, because we're right in the line of fire. I'll stop if you agree not to fight." Kitty gently shook Jubilee who was getting ready to throw up. The two locked eyes and reluctantly, Jubilee agreed. Kitty smiled and phased the two into the floor and out near the garage exit. She held onto Jubilee as the girl threw up in a corner.

"You shouldn't even be with, Emma. Believe it or not, we miss you Jubes." Kitty rubbed her hands over Jubilee's arms comforting her as she threw up. She felt bad for making the girl sick, but it was to make sure she was safe. She really did care about Jubilee and seeing her on Emma's team hurt her.

"Yo, sweetheart."

Kitty looked up toward the stairs, she scrunched up her nose as Toad hopped down. "What do you want?"

"I miss you too!" Suddenly, he spat a green thick substance toward Kitty's face. She brought her hands up to her face, tripping over her own two feet and falling down the steps of the garage. She landed on her shoulder and flailed around trying to get the thickening green gunk off of her face. Kitty was panicking, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't focus on her phasing. Suddenly, a hand pulled her up by her arm and held her still. She muffled her discomfort and she stood still, feeling a hot pressure on her face. The goop fell off onto the floor and Kitty took in a huge gulp of air.

"Careless, Pryde, careless." John let go of Kitty and rolled his eyes as she cleaned the goop off of her face. "I thought you were the great Shadow Cat, don't see anything great happening now."

Kitty pushed herself into John's arms, phasing him as Toad sent out his mucus ridden tongue. Once it flicked back into his mouth, John pushed himself out of Kitty's grip. He held onto his stomach and looked at her.

"No.....never...again." He wheezed and pulled Kitty back toward him, saving her from colliding with Pietro.

"Double-Team the Frog?" Kitty smiled to John. He held up a hand, "_one minute, throwing up"_ was what the gesture meant. Kitty laughed, but jumped back as Toad landed in front of them.

"It's not _Frog_, it's _Toad._"

"Same shit." John gurgled, lighting his lighter and making his way toward Toad. He formed a fireball in his hand and sent it toward Toad, who jumped out of the way and landed next to Remy, but he wasn't there for long. Upon seeing the dirty boy, Remy sent his boot right into his face, sending him flying back toward John.

"_Dégoûtant_..." Remy growled as he watched Toad hop around, trying to avoid John's flame. He pushed Rogue behind him as a metallic spike shot up from the floor, inches away from his face. He looked back at Rogue and smiled.

"_Mon Cheri_, Remy wants to know if you would do him the honour of joining him fight?" He turned around and stuck out his hand, bowing.

Rogue chuckled and placed her hand in his, returning the bow with a curtsy. "It'll be 'mah pleasure, dah'lin'."

"Look, as much as you two look cute together, I don't have time to watch you two lover birds." Cessily formed out of the ground, her metallic body shifting together. She tied her red hair into a pony tail and shrugged to Remy.

"Before we fight, Remy wants to know....why not make love, not war?"

Cessily smiled and laughed before taking a few steps forward and pushing herself into the air. She sent a kick at Remy and he stepped aside, pushing Rogue into the other direction. The pair turned around and watched as Cessily formed into liquid, slapping against the car and sliding down into the floor.

"Did we win?" Remy asked over to Rogue and she shrugged. Cessily moved her liquid body across the floor, quickly forming up behind Rogue and wrapping her bendy arms around Rogue. Rogue struggled in Cessily's grip, every time she would kick it felt as if she was kicking against water, not a person. She ducked her head, Remy sending a charged card toward Cessily. Falling to the floor, Rogue quickly took off her glove and splashed her bare hand into the liquid Cessily puddle.

Rogue's body quickly turned the same metallic hue and Cessily convulsed on the floor, her body forming back into a solid. Rogue shot up from her spot her arms grabbing onto Remy. He laughed as he grabbed onto her, her arms slipping out his grip as she struggled to form her body into a solid.

"_Mon ami..._Remy thinks your clothes are falling off...." Remy laughed as Rogue shrieked, her body formed between liquid metal and solid her clothes were, indeed, slipping off her body. She struggled to get up, holding onto Remy's arms. It felt more like she was on an ice skating rink without any skates and to top it off, she was naked. It was a good thing Remy was covered up. Remy slipped on the liquid mass, and fell on his rear, Rogue falling on top of him as she covered her head, Bobby flying right over their heads.

"Get up, _Iceman_." Pietro spat, running next to Bobby and kicking him on the side. Bobby grabbed onto Pietro's leg, icing it up and the entire left side of his body.

"Can't move so fast...can you?" Bobby chuckled as he got up, holding onto his waist. He staggered back and leaned on a nearby car. He watched as Pietro struggled to get out of the ice cast.

"Actually...I still can move..." Pietro smiled, and Bobby watched in surprise as Pietro broke himself out of the ice, moving his body quickly to form heat and melting the ice. Bobby was pushed back as Pietro sent a punch toward his chest. Pietro took a quick step to the side, completely dodging an ice blast from Bobby. He let out a laugh and rushed over to Bobby's side, pulling him back up by his shirt and cocking his fist back. Bobby reached up his hand, grabbing onto Pietro's hand and freezing it completely.

"I'm _really_ getting sick of you freezing me." Pietro growled as his arm plopped to his side, the weight from the ice making him stagger off balance. He shot out his other fists, still hitting Bobby right in the face as he had planned. While Bobby recovered from the hit, Pietro slammed his ice covered hand on the floor, freeing his hand. He was ready to send another flurry of fists, when he was stopped.

He looked around using his eyes, not being able to move his head. Everyone was frozen in their spots, Piotr and Santo in mid air, ready to collide with one another. John and his lighter in his hand, Kitty next to him, blocking as Toad's tongue shot out of his mouth. Rogue, finally back to normal and covered by Remy's long jacket, Cessily on the floor. What was going on? He struggled to look more, but he couldn't.

Then, as quick as they had all stopped, they were let go. Pietro staggered forward, his momentum put off balance. Recovering quickly he massaged his fist and looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. Everyone being just as confused as he was.

"_Oh shit..."_ Pietro thought to himself as his eyes wandered over to the garage entrance.

There, looking pissed as shit, sat the Professor.

___________________

**Glossary de la Gambit**

**Dégoûtant**_- _Disgusting


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**: Tourniquet

Everyone on both teams had been sent to the their rooms, much like little children being caught stealing from the cookie jar. They all sulked to their room in silence, not one of them saying anything to each other. Rogue was carried to her room by Remy, who wanted to make sure no one saw of her nakedness. Much like a child, Emma Frost was shipped off to the Professor's office. She was sat in the middle of the room with Charles, Logan and Jean looking at her as if she was something unholy.

"Ms. Frost......I hope you understand how severe things have gotten." Charles relaxed his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers, resting his chin on top of them. "You're on the verge of getting fired here. Never in all of my years of bringing in kids has a fight ever erupted."

Emma placed her hand on her chest in bewilderment. "I didn't do anything! I was merely going down there with my students and everyone started fighting each other. You surely can't blame me for anything that happened."

"Save it for someone who cares." Logan scoffed, crossing his hands over his chest. He received a look from Jean and he shrugged it off. If it was up to him, he would've sent the little Queen out on her butts weeks ago. But leave it to good 'ol Chuck to do otherwise. He was too nice for his own sake. Emma rolled her eyes at Logan and sat back in her seat.

"Look, I understand you not liking me. A lot of people here haven't taken so kindly to me, and that's fine. But I haven't done anything to deserve to get fired."

Before the Professor could talk, Logan butted back in. "Oh, bullshit. You _know_ you've done your share of things around here."

"Like what?" Emma retorted. "Giving other kids in the school a chance to join a team? Teaching a class where everyone in it hates me? I still teach them because it's my job. I would like to know what _you_ have done around here, Logan."

"Hey don't get sma--" Jean placed a hand on Logan's arm, settling him down. He gave Jean a disappointed look and rolled his eyes, moving to another part of the room. Jean gave the Professor a nod and he continued.

"Emma, we're being more than nice with what we're going to say. We're goin--"

"Just kick her out already. Goddammit, how many chances you gunna' give the woman before she keeps shitting on you?" Logan growled from his side of the room. It was ridiculous how many chances they were giving her. "Besides, what about the kid?"

"There are many '_kids'_ in this school, Logan. Why don't you be more specific." Emma crossed her legs and smugly looked at Logan. If it was just him and her in this room, he was sure he would've stuck his claws inside her quicker than she could blink.

"Professor, you know who I'm talking about. Jean?"

The Professor nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Emma what you've done to that child, to Alyce, just unforgivable. That girl's mental state is being pushed beyond her limits."

"Once again, I haven't done anything wrong to her."

"Jeez!" Logan laughed. "Are you kidding me? She's told me a few things. The kid practically walks around in a daze now, she looks like she's medicated or drunk. From how she used to be, it's not a secret that you've done something to her."

"All I've done was show her the truth, make her see things for what they are."

"What _are_ you? This isn't fuckin' X-Files...'_show her the truth_'." Logan huffed as he mocked Emma with a smile on his face.

Jean looked down to the Professor and the two sighed, Emma and Logan bickering amongst one another.

*

*

Bella had been in this classroom for about an hour. She was guessing this. The clock in the room was broken. Just her luck. She kicked and banged on the door with all her might, but no matter how hard she did no one came to open the door.

"I swear...when I get out of here, Remy is going to be the first I hit." Bella rolled her eyes and shuffled her way to a chair. She plopped herself down and leaned back. There was one main reason as to why she wanted to get out of the classroom as quickly as possible.

She _really really_ had to pee.

Bella crossed her legs and laid her head down on the table, trying to think of things other than running sinks, and dropping waterfalls. Rushing oceans, glistening lakes. Everything with water was just popping into Bella's head and it wasn't helping. Tapping her shoes on the floor, Bella got up and walked back to the door. She was going to get this door to open. She was going to make it her bitch. Bella grabbed at the doorknob and pulled back with all her might, but the door was still wedged in at the lock. Feeling defeated she gave the door one last final kick before sitting back in her chair.

Bella pouted in her seat, looking outside the window for what seemed to be about five minutes, before the doorknob began to wiggle. A smile grew on Bella's face as she made her way to the door and pulled on it. "Hey! Push a bit harder." Bella yelled to the person on the other side. The person complied and she pulled back, the door swinging open and Bella landing on her rear.

"Hey, thanks a lot I really h--" Bella fixed her hair out of her eyes before laying her gaze to the person at the door. The two looked at each other, both unsure how to go about a conversation. The look between them held confusion, anger, happiness, and sheer excitement. But Bella had to remind herself, as she fixed her blond hair in nervousness, that this girl was no longer the girl she knew long ago.

"I heard you kicking at the door...."

"Right....thanks..." Bella grabs onto the desk near her and pushes herself up off the floor, but a hand grabs onto hers and she looks up. It's _her_. Looking away, Bella silently nods her head in appreciation. She can't bring herself to look at this girl. This girl she used to call her cousin. She slips her hand out of _her_ grip and the two stand in silence.

All Bella wants is an apology, for what _she_ said to her. That awful, disgusting thing she whispered into her ear. Maybe more than a apology, but what was that called? Bella looked down, watching as _she_ turned on her heel and walked out of the classroom, leaving Bella waiting for an apology that would never come.

Bella jogged out of the classroom, looking down the hall and watching as the girl disappeared down the hall. A part of Bella wanted to call out to _her,_ but what would she say? She just wanted the old Alyce back.....was that to much to ask?


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**: Under A Floorboard World

Gazing, absentmindedly, at the ceiling of the room, Alyce lay. She clasped her hands together and formed a pair of headphones, attached to a small music player. She pushed the headphones into her ears, trying to zone out the noise of Jubilee hurling in the bathroom. Something had happened and Alyce was dying to find out what. If only Jubilee would stop her wheezing, Alyce could probably find out.

She got up from her bed, turning the volume on her music player louder. She tied her hair back and made her way out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. If there was one person who knew what had happened, it was Emma Frost. As much as Alyce didn't want to find the woman, she wanted to know why her cousin was locked up in a classroom. She wondered down the halls of the Mansion, a few students here and there, minding their own business. Alyce felt lazy, like she hadn't had enough sleep. Her mind easily wondered and by the time she got to Emma's office, she had completely forgotten what she had came there for.

Alyce placed her hand on the wooden door and leaned on it, the door creaking. She turned the knob and sloppily pushed herself into the room. Emma was no where in sight. Groaning in disappointment, Alyce made her way toward Emma's desk. She sat down on the chair and lifted her legs up on the desk. She plucked the headphones out of her ears and wrapped them over the music player. She placed it in her hand and it disappeared.

"My name is Emma Frost....and I'm a complete _bitch_." Alyce chuckled, using a mocking tone, to herself and morphed her clothes into all white. She picked up a small water globe on Emma's desk and turned it upside down, small fake snow flakes drifting down to the bottom. She was so enthralled by the tiny snow globe, that Alyce failed to see Emma walk into the office.

"What are you doing in here?" Emma asked, placing her hands on her hips and giving Alyce a stone cold gaze. Alyce put down the snow globe and reclined back in the chair, re-morphing her clothes to her preferred black.

"Why was my cousin locked inside a classroom with the lock jammed?"

Emma gave Alyce a dumbfounded look and rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Does it look like I would jam a lock?" Emma asked closing the double doors to her office.

"It looks like you would do a lot of things. I'll ask again--"

"You don't need too." Emma interrupted. "Why don't you ask Remy who jammed the lock? I'm sure he'll know more than me." Emma had Alyce there. She knew Alyce wouldn't go up to either of the members of the X-Team and ask. Emma was her only gateway when it came to knowing about her cousin.

"I'm sure the Professor would know..." Alyce chided as she got up from Emma's chair. She didn't get far when a force pushed against her body and pushed her back down on the chair. She looked as Emma made her way toward the desk, smiling. Alyce tried to force herself up from the seat, but to no avail. It felt as if something heavy was keeping her down, it was straining her body and it was slowly hurting.

"You really need to _stop_ acting the way you do." Emma sneered next to Alyce's face. She slowly wrapped a hand around Alyce's neck and squeezed. "Stop acting like a stupid little twit. The sooner you start acting normally, the sooner I can go back to my little plan. I can't _do_ anything when everyone is worried about you."

Alyce couldn't use her powers. Whatever Emma was doing was suppressing her from movie and from using her powers. Their icy blue eyes met and stayed locked. "What....the _fuck_ are you talking about..." Alyce wheezed out, feeling the grip from Emma's hand tighten.

"It's simple. The more you keep acting out of character, the more I keep pushing back my plans."

Alyce let out a cough as Emma let go of her neck. The weight on top of her began to lift and Alyce relaxed her body. She was about to get up from the chair when Emma stopped her once more.

"If you don't snap back to normal by tomorrow, I'll do more than leave your cousin locked in a classroom." Emma raised her eyebrows and pushed Alyce out of her grip. Why was Alyce being so tame? Why wasn't she taking action and slamming her fist into this woman's face? What was stopping her? Alyce got up from the seat and picked up the snow globe on the table. She cocked her arm back and threw the ball straight for Emma's face.

The ball stopped in mid air and gently hovered, before Emma grabbed it and sighed. She looked at it and shook it, the fake snow moving around. "Why do you _hate_ me so much, Alyce? I never did anything to you but tell you the truth."

Alyce clenched her fists. No matter how mad she was at this woman, she couldn't bring herself to hit her. Why was she letting Emma take control over her? Out of frustration Alyce ran her hands through her hair, sighing. "Whatever you're doing to m---"

"Have comfort knowing you really can't do anything about it....You're in _my_ web, Alyce. Remember that."


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**: Friday's Child

Fridays. The day everyone loved because it signaled the start of the weekend. Weekend meant going out of the Mansion, to the mall, to a carnival, when the weather was nice; the beach. Friday's in the Mansion served as a free day, with most of the teachers giving into the students requests and playing a movie. It was better than doing work. Even though Emma wasn't aware of this "ritual" she still brought a movie with her to class. She didn't know what the kids would like, so she had to read their minds to find out. Emma walked into her classroom, turning the lights off before any of the kids arrived. She got up on a chair and began to fiddle with the TV.

"It's not plugged."

Emma slapped her hand over her chest, startled by the sudden voice. She looked to the back of the class room and spotted Alyce. She turned the page on her book and folded it, she closed it and looked up to Emma. "It's _not _plugged....."

"I _heard _you. You just startled me is all."Carefully, Emma got down from the chair and snatched the plug that was on the floor. She gave Alyce a sour look, but she was already back into reading. "What's the miracle you're in class? You do know what class is coming in, right?" Emma asked, plugging the cord into the wall and standing back up on the chair. She fiddled with the TV before looking back, waiting for Alyce's response.

"I'm fully aware of what class this is. I'm only here so you don't hurt my cousin anymore than what you have, already."

"Do you really think she cares if you still stick up for her or not?" Emma asked pushing the DVD into the slot on the TV. She got down from the chair and began to close the shades on the windows with her powers.

"It's not about that." Alyce murmured, turning a page in her book. "I'm giving in to your stupid demands because _I_ care. If you so much as run your mouth off to me, I will retaliate."

Emma let out a loud laugh and looked over the DVD case in her hands. "It's nice to know we've come to terms. I'll play nice...."

"That means not calling my name on the roll." Alyce added. It felt weird to talk to Emma and have her actually comply without a problem. But Alyce was too nervous to face the team so suddenly, that if she could just sit in the back of the class and not have anyone notice, she would be happy. She scooted her chair, more, to the side of the wall and watched as Emma opened the door to the dark class room. The X-Team coming in.

Alyce tensed up in her seat, trying her best to keep her head down. Alyce Red was _really_ scared. It took Alyce a moment to realize that she was using her power to form a shadow over her body so she wouldn't be seen. It was only when Remy sat in front of her, his cologne hitting her nose, that she wanted to leave. Everything felt like it _could_ go back to normal, despite some team members missing and others joining. All she had to do was say hi, say hi to someone and things would revert back to the good ol' times. Would she dare try? Remy would definitely say hi back.

Alyce began to think. The only thing she ever did was skip a few classes and not talk to them for a few days. Was that so bad? Her eyes spotted as John entered the class, Bella following close behind; Pietro slung over her shoulder. Wait...._what? _Alyce smiled to herself. Pietro was easier at forgiving than she was. Maybe she should follow his example. But Bella still didn't understand that it wasn't _really_ her who whispered in her ear. Maybe Alyce was just being stubborn. She did get it from her father.

Emma turned on the movie and the class grew silent, falling victim to the plot and characters.

*

*

Alyce slowly opened her eyes, the afternoon sun hitting her face and warming her cheeks. Her arm outstretched, using it as a pillow. She brought up her other hand to her face and pushed back the black hair that had fallen on her face. The sun felt so nice and warm, relaxing her nerves and calming her. Then she realized where she was. Still in the class. Had the movie ended already? It had to be if the shades were up. Alyce stood still, listening around her, not daring to pick up her head.

The quiet hushed conversations going on around her, were they about her? Or was she just imagining things? The seat in front of her, Remy's seat lay unoccupied. Where had he gone? Had they all left, not even bothering to say anything to her? Gathering up all the courage in her, Alyce slowly sat up in her seat, stretching out her arms and arching her back.

"Well, it's good to see you're awake..." Emma murmured from her desk. The rest of the class grew quiet and looked in Emma's direction, then shot a look to the back of the class. Alyce could feel they eyes on her, almost like they were burning holes into her skin. But with the sun still on her face, she felt warm, happy even and a small smile splayed on her face.

"I'd thought you might like to know---" Emma bit on the tip of her pen and cocked her head to the side. "---they're outside." She motioned her hand toward the window, causing Alyce to wipe the smile from her face. She got up from her seat and looked outside, her body going frozen.

The same people. From months back. The ones with the black suits. The ones who had almost kidnapped Bella. Alyce grips on the window sill, looking back to Emma who's putting on her white jacket. She flips her hair out of the collar and smiles.

"Why do you look so nervous, Alyce?" Emma asks innocently. Alyce looks back outside, speechless. She looks around the classroom, finding Bella and giving her a worried gaze. What could've been said in words, was said with their eyes. Alyce's apology to what she said, Bella's apology for what she did months ago with John. Everything, in that quick moment, was mended. Alyce had failed before to save Bella out of the Alkali Lake compound, what if it happened again?

Emma let out a smile and opened the door to the classroom. "You shouldn't look so worried....I'm only going out to take a look at the property I've bought. Those men outside are my contractors." Emma gave Alyce a coy look, knowing full well why the girl was so down right nervous. Was it so evil that Emma liked to have some fun? She liked messing with the girls head. When Alyce had been sleeping in the infirmary, after Emma knocked her out, her thoughts were springing around like crazy. All her deepest fears and wildest imaginations, Emma saw in that one instant when she connected with her. Now, she had more than she could imagine, things to use against Alyce. Make her jumpy. Emma said her goodbyes to the class and walked out of the class, still leaving Alyce in shock.

"Do you see now?" Bella asked, standing up in her seat. "Do you see now, how that woman is crazy?" Bella made her way toward Alyce and gripped at her arms, she shook her gently. "Look at me, Alyce."

"She's been using things against me." Alyce mumbled, looking at Bella with a mock smile. "You never really kissed John did you?" She whispered the last bit, not wanting anyone to hear. Bella shook her head.

"I _did_, but months ago. When you were gone, when you were at the Brotherhood."

Alyce looked at her cousin and brought her hands up to Bella's face. She cleaned away the tears with her thumbs as they fell from Bella's eyes. "I'm _so_ sorry, Bella."

"It's ok....wait." Bella looked at her cousin with a stern look. "You're going to follow her, aren't you."

Alyce let out a soft chuckle, stammering back as Bella lunged into her arms. She patted Bella's blond hair and embraced her. "Are you_ sure_ you aren't a mutant?" Alyce asked, jokingly. Some how, Bella always knew when Alyce was going to do something reckless. Bella didn't answer, instead she dug her face into Alyce's shirt and clinged harder. Alyce's eyes scanned the room and she spotted John.

It felt weird for him to look at her. Sure it had been only three days, but it had felt like forever. Alyce looked different to his eyes. She looked tired and worn out, like she was always thinking or _trying_ to. Whatever Emma was doing to her, she was doing it good. But her eyes still looked strong. Not knowing what to do, John shrugged, their eyes still locked. She let out a small chuckle and a sincere smile formed on her lips, catching him off guard. He picked up his hand and squeezed at the air. "_Clawed-Thing is back?"_ The gesture spoke and he gave her wink. Alyce rolled her eyes.

_Clawed Thing is back._


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**: Redeemer

"I don't see why you need to follow her." Bella watched as Alyce got out of the shower and began to get dressed. This whole idea that had Alyce had stuck in her head was just stupid. But then again, it _was_ Alyce, and she tended to do some stupid things. Alright, maybe not stupid just reckless. Bella wondered if she was a mutant would she be just as daring, if not more?

"Alyce! Are you ignoring me?" Bella questioned. Alyce finished tugging on her shirt before looking at Bella with a silly look.

"I'm not ignoring you."

Bella rolled her green eyes and let out a sigh. "So then how come you didn't answer me?"

"Bella, c'mon. I know you're going to try to talk me out of this, but it's not going to happen." Alyce walked over to her closet, it felt funny being back in her old room, and pulled out her jacket. She slipped her hands through the sleeves and zippered it up, tightening the straps that lay across her chest. She gave Bella a dull look and began to look under the large bed for her boots.

Bella sighed and closed the closet door. She always found herself tidying up after Alyce. She picked up the wet towel from the bed and shook it, placing it over the headboard of the bed. "But you haven't even explained _why_ you're following her."

"She's planning something. I'm going to find out what. Is that so bad?" Alyce poked her head up from under the bed and glared at Bella. "Well, is it that bad? She's told me she has some large plan forming, if it's something to harm the Institute, then why not go find out?"

"Not by yourself! Why not tell the Professor?" Bella laid down on the bed and waited for Alyce to finish looking for boots. Alyce reemerged from under her bed, a pair of clunky motorcycle boots in her hands. She sat on the bed and pushed them on, she tightened the buckle and patted her foot on the ground.

"I just want to find out on my own first. There's nothing wrong with that. If something gets out of hand then I'll let the Professor know."

"Alyce--"

"Bella, she's messed around with my perception of reality. She's....she's just messed with me. Just let me do this." Alyce turned around and looked at her cousin with a pleading eye. Bella sighed and rolled over on her back. Alyce had a way of doing things, she was always head on. If there was something she wanted to do she would do it not matter what anyone told her. Bella didn't think of it being courageous (not saying Alyce wasn't) but it was more like stubbornness. Bella began to chuckle, figuring that Alyce was, indeed, like John. Both of them stubborn and hard to win against.

"What's so funny?" Alyce asked getting up from the bed and tying back her long hair. It had been ages since she trimmed her hair, and now her hair reached down to her lower back. When she got back from her little adventure she had to make sure she asked her mother to trim it. "Well? What's so funny?"

"Nothing! You should go see John before you leave....how out of character is this...but he _missed_ you."

The two girls shared a giggle, and Bella hopped off the bed. She grabbed onto Alyce's shoulders and lead her in the direction of the door. "Go, go see him."

"I can see him when I get back." Alyce protested, trying to steady her weight so Bella couldn't move her. "Bella, let go."

"Alyce! Stop being such a little baby. Just go see your boy--"

"O.K, fine, fine." Alyce spun out of Bella's grip and opened the door. She stopped and looked back. "I don't see why it can't just wait."

Bella gave Alyce one last final shove out of the door. "Because, _I_ said so." She smiled before closing the door in Alyce's face, leaving her in the hallway alone. Alyce smiled and lightly kicked at the air with her boot. It felt good to be with her cousin again, but it made her feel ashamed. Ashamed that she had let Emma toy with her. Alyce quickly made her way to the boy's dorm area and began looking for John and Bobby's shared room.

*

Alyce smiled as she heard the arguing from inside the room. This was probably the daily norm between John and Bobby. She couldn't understand how the two didn't find their bickering funny. She leaned in a bit closer, her ear almost touching the door as she listened in.

"Drake...this is like the _third _time!"

"How is it me, John?"

"Oh..._right_, like it _had_ to be me, because unlike you, I can get some action from my girl."

"The last time I checked you weren't...."

"Problem solved, pick up that shit you left in the bathroom."

Alyce chuckled softly. She really didn't want to know what they were arguing about, but it sounded serious. To them at least. The more Alyce tried to understand what it was they were bickering about the more disturbed she was getting. She shuddered and gently knocked on the door. The bickering instantly stopped.

"Go answer the fucking door, Drake. I ain't doing shit until you pick up that mess you made in the bathroom."

The doorknob began to slowly open. "For the last time, it wasn't me. Stop being such a----oh...Hey Alyce."

Alyce smiled and raised her hand. "Hey." She took a step back as the Bobby opened the door and stepped out. "Just leaving?" She asked. Bobby nervously scratched his head and nodded, before taking off down the hall in a quick jog. What was his problem? Alyce stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She leaned back and smiled over to John, who sat on his bed.

"What happened in the bathroom?" Alyce asked, after a few minutes, breaking the ice between them. John rolled his eyes and laid back on his bed.

"Drake fucking girls in the bathroom, _again. _Leavin' condoms and crap around. Shit is _gross_. Ever since he broke up with Rogue, he's been going berserk in there." John groaned, as if he was remembering some horrible mental image and placed his pillow over his head. Alyce chuckled and sat down next to John. She placed a hand on his leg.

"I'm going out for a bit." She whispered, gently laying her head down on his stomach. She closed her eyes and synced her breathing with his. John took the pillow off of his head, surprised that Alyce had laid on top of him.

"Where you going?" He asked nonchalantly, placing his arms behind his head and looking up to the ceiling. He took in a deep breath as Alyce cuddled up next to him, placing a kiss on his neck. "Before you answer that, you know, it feels weird."

"What?" Alyce asked quietly, her feelings a bit weird. "And before you answer that, I'm going to follow Emma."

John let out a groan. "Just let the bitch go, why do you have to follow her?" John let out an exaggerated sigh and placed a hand over Alyce's head. "I meant it feels weird having you back. It felt like a long time."

What was currently marveling Alyce, was the ability the two had to keep two conversations going at the same time and not get confused. Alyce smiled and gently bit his neck, feeling him shudder. She knew he liked it. "It was only three days, I don't want to talk about that though. I'm following Emma because I want to find out what she's up too."

Lightly, John wrapped his fingers in Alyce's hair and pulled her back from his neck. They both knew they couldn't go any farther with what they were doing. He looked at Alyce and gave her a look, letting go of her hair. The only thing she was doing was getting him excited, there was no point if there was nothing that could be done about it. "What do you mean, what she's up too?" John let out a breath trying to calm himself down.

Alyce laughed at how flustered he was getting. She nibbled on his ear, another thing he liked. "A day ago, she told me she had something she was planning. I want to find out what it is, especially if it's something against the school. She's already separated it in half..."

"Let the Professor deal with it." John was getting sick of Alyce tempting him. He pulled away from her and gently rolled on top of her, pinning down her hands. "If she's doing something, let the big guys handle it."

"I'm sure Bella wanted to tell me the same thing. But this is personal." Alyce arched her back up and pulled him into a kiss. It was a hard, rough kiss, something that both of them had wanted for the past few days, but couldn't get. She wrapped her legs around him and pushed him down on top of her. Bracing himself on one had, he used the other to make his way up Alyce's shirt.

"Why do you always have to go off by yourself?" John let out a huff, a heavy feeling in his chest from the excitement. He rubbed his hand over her soft tummy and moved higher up her shirt. He pulled her hands over her head and held them down with his free hand. He placed another kiss on her lips, not wanting her to answer. Why couldn't she stay? A part of him suddenly wished she was super girly, so she wouldn't be so defiant. But it was what attracted him to her, how bold she was. He traced his fingers over her side, and she let out a giggle.

"Going by myself--" She chuckled, feeling his fingers going higher. "--so no one else can get hurt."

"Just don't do anything risky." John asked back, stopping himself from going to far and pulling his hand out from her shirt. Alyce smiled and placed a few more kisses on him. She wanted so bad to draw him back in, but she knew she had to go soon. He let her go of her hands and slowly moved away. She got up from the bed and chuckled. She turned to him and placed another kiss on his lips.

"Life isn't fun without any risks."


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**: Splish, Splish, Splish

It was a good thing the Professor had told her which direction to go, or else Alyce was sure she would've gotten lost. She crouched, up high, in a big evergreen tree. Angrily, she pushed the prickly pines from her face. Every time she pushed the pines from her face, another branch would slap her on the other side of her face. This was making her stake out, on the black car below, significantly irritating. Forming a clawed hand, Alyce dug her fingers into the tree bark and slid down the trunk, landing near the car without a sound.

Staying low to the ground, Alyce peered over the side of the car, looking around for anyone who might be near. The car had stopped where the road had ended, what lay before Alyce was a thick lush forest. It was a marvelous sight, birds chirping and the grass thick and full. Alyce sighed to herself as she got up from where she crouched. She wished she could stop to really enjoy the scenery, but she couldn't. As Alyce pushed past thick bushes, watching her step as brown rabbits ran, she could make out a Mansion. It looked old and abandoned, with some of the windows shattered. Ivy clung to the sides, weaving an intricate pattern around the Mansion's graying brick structure.

What was Emma doing here? The Mansion looked like it hadn't been refurbished in ages, what could she possibly want with it? She had everything she needed to live off of at the Institute, and wherever she had lived before hand. So what was the real reason behind this? Alyce continued walking, no where in sight were the men in black suits. Alyce veered to the left, running her hand along the vine infested wall that surrounded the Mansion. Suddenly, Alyce felt inadequate. What _was_ she going to do once she found Emma? Alyce smiled as she took a step back from the wall and looked up. Maybe she should've listened to John, and stood with him, letting the Professor handle what was going on. Alyce jumped up the side of the wall, a black tentacle guiding her to the other side and setting her down softly.

Alyce walked over a pile of fallen leaves, her boots crunching on a few. The grass on this side of the wall was dark, brown, decaying. Nothing at all like the other side. Centipedes, crawling out from the pile of leaves and scurrying up the wall and going over her boots. She kicked one of the insects off of her boot and continued walking toward the Mansion, a raindrop splashing on her head. She stopped and extended out her arm, opening her palm and watching as more rain splashed down. Alyce looked up to the sky. On the far side of the Mansion gray clouds formed, swollen with rain. They inched forward across the sky, devouring the white defenseless clouds and turning the blue sky, black. A small smile played on her face as her black tentacles picked her up off the ground and pushed her toward the Mansion. She loved the rain, it was always so cool and comforting. It washed away everything old and troublesome and left everything anew. Alyce picked up her speed, pushing forward.

She _was_ going to find Emma Frost.

*

*

Alyce began to second guess herself. Maybe this _was_ the wrong Mansion. Maybe she had found the wrong car, or maybe just went in the wrong direction. There was no one inside. A thick dust covered the floor, Alyce's footsteps; the only ones around. The carpet on the grand staircase was dull and peeling off, bugs and rodents jumping around as if in their own personal playground. The chandelier above Alyce looked ready to fall, the brilliant crystals hanging from it still glittering with life. Old paintings littered the walls, dull and gray. There was no reason to be here, Alyce had decided, and once she turned around to leave she heard a voice.

Voice_s_.

Alyce quickly jumped down into her black mass, reappearing behind the stair case. She sent out one of her tentacles, it quivered and burst out into dust, covering her foot steps. She pressed her back against the back of the stairs, ignoring the tickling feeling from the spider webs around her neck. Out of habit, from feeling nervous, she formed her metallic claws over her arms and waited. The voices grew louder.

"All it needs is some touch ups here and there, but everything else works. The lower level is to be used for Cerebro..."

_What?_ Alyce peered around the corner, watching as Emma walked down the stairs. Her white cape dragged across the floor, picking up the dust and creating a path. Cerebro? Wasn't the Professor the only one who could use it? What was Emma talking about?

"I already have the plans set up. Once I start bringing in more kids to my team, I'll have them move here."

Was Emma making her own school? With the kids she was "stealing" from the Institute? Cerebro? Alyce leaned back up against the wall and closed her eyes. She needed to link to the Professor, or just try. How did one even go about that? Alyce decided that just saying her thoughts and thinking of the Professor should work.

"_Professor...do you hear me?"_ She waited a few minutes, hearing no answer. She felt stupid even trying, but no harm in it. "_Professor!"_ Alyce shouted in her head.

"_Stop yelling, Alyce. I'm here."_

Alyce smiled. It worked. She closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath, which she didn't really need to. It wasn't like she was actually talking. "_I think Emma is trying to open up her own school. She's also making Ce-"_ Her words cut off, a hand grabbing onto her arm and pulling her out into the open. Alyce was getting ready to retaliate when she was pushed to the floor, the cold metal barrel of a gun pushed against her temple.

"Well, it seems we have a snoop." Emma chuckled, her heels clicking hard on the floor as she made her way towards Alyce. "What are you doing here, little Alyce?"

"Don't call me that." Alyce spat. The only one who ever did call her Little Alyce was Wanda, the only one who_ could_ get away with it. Alyce tried to get up, her fists clenched in anger, but another set of hands pushed her down and another gun met her other temple. She was in a tight spot. Her mind began to wonder, how fast could she phased through the floor before their guns went off? Would she even dare try?

"You should be called Little Alyce. Coming into Wonderland all over again, you should know better than to mess with the White Queen."

Alyce let out a laugh, despite having two guns pushed to her head. "You're _so_ stupid. The White Queen aids Alice in the books...don't feel so high and mighty."

Emma scowled, sending her gloved hand right across Alyce's face. "I think it's you feeling high and mighty....having more than two guns aimed at you, from what you can tell, and you're still running your mouth." Emma motioned for the two men to let ago of Alyce.

"You think you're so tough...." Emma laughed, she spun around, her cape wiping Alyce in the face. Her white boots walked up the grand staircase. She stood behind a mass array of soldiers, each with a machine gun in their hands. "I'd like to see how fast you can run---" She picked up her hand and they picked up their guns, the red laser lights hovering over Alyce's body as she got up. Alyce looked around and locked gazes with Emma.

"---I wonder, how fast you _can_ run. If you _can_ outrun a bullet." Emma swished her hand down, the soldiers aiming once last time, their fingers pushing down on the trigger.

*

*

Jean pulled on her gloves and zipped them up. She pulled back her hair and made her way to the front of the X-Jet, plopping her self down in the captains seat. She began clicking buttons, flipping switches and tightening her seat belt, as the rest of the team boarded the jet. The Professor boarded, taking his seat in the back of the jet and trying his best to concentrate. He hadn't told them much, only where to go and where to land, but Jean trusted him. They all did.

Jean took a look back from her seat, watching as the Professor closed his eyes and began doing...whatever it was he was doing. She nodded over to Storm, who took the co-pilot seat. Scott Summers came up behind her and placed a kiss on her forehead, and she smiled, hearing Logan huff his disapproval.

"You sure it's ok to leave the kids there?" Logan asked, breaking up the little love fest between Jean and Scott.

Scott turned around and placed his arms over his chest, looking at Logan with a disapproval. "Hank is still there, along with Kurt. They're not kids anymore Logan."

"They still act like it, I wonder who they get it from..." Smirking, Logan looked at Scott, who rolled his eyes behind his ruby red visor. Not that he could tell, that he was rolling his eyes, Logan was only guessing. He guessed a lot of things when it came to Scott, only because he didn't know him so well. Really because he didn't _want_ to know him so well. Logan finished zippering up his suit and sat down in his seat, buckling in. He cursed to himself as the buckle slipped out of his hands and shot back into the seat. He pulled it out angrily and tried once again to buckle himself in. Scott let out a chuckle and sat down, Logan looking as he strapped himself in with ease.

"Having trouble, _kid?"_ Scott asked with a smirk on his face. He let out a laugh as Logan shot him the finger and continued to struggle with his buckle.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**: Lucia Di Lammermoor

Bella watched from her window as the X-Jet lifted out of the basketball court and hovered into the air. It lingered there for a few minutes then shot out into the graying sky. Quickly, Bella shut the window, a blast of warm air hitting her face. Annoyed that her hair was now messed up, Bella smoothed it out with her hand. She had just styled it not to long ago and now it was ruined. With practically all the teachers gone, everyone doing their own thing, what was Bella going to do for the rest of the day? Alyce had gone on her little adventure, so she couldn't bother her. She would go and bother Pietro, maybe _try_ to do his hair, but he had gone back to the Brotherhood to check up on things. What could she do?

Not thinking much of anything, Bella began to make her way to the grand staircase. She jogged down the steps and made her way to the front door. Idly, she pulled out her cellphone from her pocket and began to look through the games. She hopped down the front stairs, ignoring the kids running past her, some bumping into her. She didn't think anything of it. Bella bit on her lower lip, she always lost to the phone when it came to poker. She didn't know why, it was a fairly simple concept. Sighing, Bella closed her phone and stretched her arms out, feeling small droplets of rain on her arms. A cool breeze whipped by her and she inhaled it, the air calming her. Bella smiled and looked in front of her....her arms dropping to her sides, her face going blank, her blood running cold.

"Well would you lookit' that...."

Bella couldn't understand what was a few feet from her. Who was it? A helmet?....a funny looking one at that. She didn't know whether to laugh, or take him seriously, he _was_ rather large. He took a step forward, a smile on his face. The ground shook, Bella wobbling. She took a step back, and he took another step forward, the ground cracking underneath his gigantic boot. Bella wobbled once more, her legs giving out and she plopped on the cold stone ground.

"You're just fallin' for me already?" The huge man laughed, he took another step forward, his big arms swinging to and fro. Bella noticed his momentum was getting faster, and he was getting closer. She got up from where she sat, her shoes scraping against the slick wet stone.

"You can run in those shoes?" He asked again smiling. "What's your name?"

"Why do you need to know?" Bella shouted back, looking at the door to the Mansion, hoping it was still open. If she had to fiddle with the lock, who knows what might happen. She began to take hurried hops back, her shoes clicking on the floor. Why _did_ she have to wear heels today? Slowly, she bent down and began to unbuckle the strap against her ankle. It she was going to run, she was going to _run. _

The man laughed, taking huffed breaths as he got closer and closer, the wind cracking to the sides and he split it with his gigantic helmet. "Juggernaut!" He bellowed.

And Bella began to run.

*

*

A ballad of guns, a symphony of bullets. The bright shine from the tips of each gun, blinding Alyce. The deafening sound of shots firing off into the air. Alyce shielded her face with her arm. They were coming so fast, how could she react? If at _all_. The air felt dense, her breathing troubled, her body falling back in slow-motion. She bumped into someone, their arms wrapping around her shoulders and holding her close. She shuddered, she could feel her hair stranding on edge, the tingly feeling on the back of her neck.

Was this some sort of Archangel? Taking her to Heaven?

She closed her eyes, feeling some sort of electrical pulse around her. Then, she heard laughter. A very familiar laugh. The giggling that could only belong to one woman. Alyce closed her eyes and leaned her head on the Angel that was holding onto her, feeling safe. One by one, she could hear the soldiers falling to the ground, single gun shots for each. More laughter, more giggling. This woman. This man holding onto her. She knew who they were.

Charlotte Pennington and Ray Crisp.

The electrical shield around them dropped and Alyce pulled back looking up to Ray with a smile. He let her go and patted her shoulders, giving her a raised eyebrow. "_Always in trouble._" The face read and she smiled. He ran his hand through his orange bangs and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Kinda gory, if you turn around." He mumbled, giving Alyce a shy look. It was Charlie, it _was_ going to be gory. Alyce shrugged, she turned around and tried not to look around but she couldn't help it. All around her, the lifeless bodies of the soldiers lay. Oddly enough, Alyce found herself desensitized to all of it.

"_Oye!_" Came a voice, a Spanish accent. Alyce looked up and plastered a smile on her face. She wouldn't think she'd be so happy to see this woman. But she was.

"'Ya happy 'ta see me, or what?" Charlie raised her machine gun over her shoulder, a small pistol in the other. She huffed and rolled her eyes at Alyce, as she walked down the grand stair case. "No thank 'ya, or anythin'?"

Alyce waited until she got a bit closer and enveloped her into a big hug. "Thanks."

Surprised by the gesture, Charlie stumbled back, dropping her massive machine gun. She gave an awkward smile to Ray and he laughed. Awkwardly, she returned the hug before pulling Alyce out her arms. "Since when did 'ya get all gushy, gushy? Man up, we got business 'ta do."

Alyce nodded and sent one of her black tentacle to pick up Charlie's gun. "On to business."

*

*

Bella was running. Fast. She stumbled, the floor giving out as the Juggernaut stepped hard behind her. She continued to run, hopping over fallen paintings and shattered statues. All around her, kids screamed. She was trying her best to lead him away from everyone, but his massive frame was too much. His shoulders touching the sides of both walls, scrapping them with his metal armour as he ran. Why was he after her? She hadn't asked, and right now, she couldn't exactly chat. Where was John? Remy? Bobby? _Anyone_. Anyone with powers that could help her. Piotr, Kitty, Rogue, Jubilee. _Anyone_.

Making a sharp turn, Bella ignored the sudden jolt of pain in her ankle, and continued to run. She needed to get the Juggernaut out of the Mansion. She halted to a stop, looking back. The floor no longer shook, the massive giant no longer nipping at her heels. Taking in big, panicked breaths, Bella pulled her phone out from her pockets. Quickly she dialed Pietro's number, the phone ringing into her ear. Nervously, she looked around, continuing to walk. Her bare feet crunching down on shattered wood and stone. She felt another jolt from the floor. Where was this Juggernaut?

"Hey, Bella what's up?"

Bella sighed out in relief and gripped the phone tightly. "Pietro, please, come. You have to...there's....there's someone in the Mansion."

"What? Bella, what's wrong? I can't hear you. Calm down." Anxiously, she looked down at her phone, the signal beginning to fade. Just her luck. She called out his name into the phone once more, beginning to grow scared upon hearing more heavy footsteps. She let out a squeak, her body jumping up as she heard a bellowing laughter. She gripped her phone hard, as if Pietro might feel her fear. She could hear his voice in the phone, still talking. What was taking him _so_ long? He was fast, he should already be here. She took a step back, the sound of the Juggernaut coming from all around her. Where was he coming from? Bella let out a sob, looking down at her phone. Where _was_ everyone? Bella brought the phone back up to her ear......tears springing from her eyes.

"_Pie_---"

______________________

A/N: Once again, Charlie isn't mine. She belongs to wicca in training. :) Give her thanks for letting me use her awesome character :)


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**: Get Well Soon

Alyce didn't understand how Ray was so calm. So calm with Charlie walking around with a massive machine gun draped over her shoulder and an array of bullets around her waist. At any sound, Charlie swung her gun off of her shoulder and aimed it. Twice, already, the gun had almost slapped Alyce. The troupe walked around the massive Mansion, trying to find Emma Frost.

"This woman is harder to find than Carmen Sandiego." Charlie grumbled, cursing under her breath in spanish. She stopped and settled her gun on the floor, rolling her shoulder and relaxing her body. "I dun' even know what's 'ya business with that _puta_, anyway...." Charlie groaned in annoyance at her aching shoulder.

"She's just....a bitch." Alyce mumbled, kicking a rock out of her way. "She's plotting against Xavier."

Charlie sighed and kicked her gun up back on her shoulder. "Why'd he send 'ya out on 'ya own?" From the last time Charlie had seen Alyce, she looked different. Did she work out? Charlie shrugged, not really caring. If Charlie hadn't shown up when she did, a part of her did think that Alyce could've _probably_ handled it herself. But then again, who knew?

"He didn't send me on my own, I went on my own. I tried to contact him, I don't know if he's coming or not." Alyce pushed opened a door with her shoulder and looked inside. It was like Emma had completely disappeared. Charlie let out a giggle.

"_I don't know if he's coming or not_....that's what she said." Charlie let out a laugh, and leaned on Ray's shoulder. Alyce smiled at them, being around the two was relaxing. Even though the situation was dire, they seemed so relaxed. Charlie always cracking her jokes and Ray just smiling whenever Charlie did.

"She mentioned something about building another Cere--"

"Look, _chula_, not to be rude or anythin', but I don' care what she's doin'. I just wanna blast somethin'." Charlie interrupted. She motioned to her guns and gave Alyce a wink. "I'm just here for the fun...."

Alyce laughed. "Sorry." Charlie gave her a salute, and the troupe began to search for the lower levels of the Mansion. A small smirk played on Alyce's face. She hoped Charlie was the first to find Emma. As much as she wanted to hurt the woman, it wouldn't hurt to let Charlie have her "fun".

*

*

Pietro stumbled to stop, throwing Avalanche off his back. The two gave each other a glare before noticing the entrance of the Mansion. Everything was wrecked, broken wood and stone everything. They looked down, both stood in a gigantic foot step. It didn't take Pietro too long to know who it was. The man worked for his father. But right now...the only thing concerning Pietro was how _queer_ he felt. He had Avalanche hop on his back so they could get to the Mansion faster, now he felt weird. The two looked at each other once more.

"Never _again_, man...." Pietro growled over to Avalanche.

"Shut up, go save your girl." Avalanche growled back. The two began to walk toward the door of the Mansion, when something crashed into the window. The person landed with a thud in front of them, his bo-staff flying out his hands and skidding near Pietro's foot. Pietro stepped over it, picking it up and watching as Remy got up, shaking glass from his hair.

Remy staggered and shuddered, shaking more glass from his long trench coat. He blinked, looking over to Pietro and Avalanche, their faces both in shock. He was just thrown out of a window, and he acted like it was normal. He stuck his hand out and motioned to his bo-staff. Reluctantly, Pietro handed it to him.

"Are you ok?" Pietro asked, looking as Remy fixed his jacket. Remy turned and gave him a stern look, then huffed upon seeing Avalanche.

"Remy wonders if you're going to be standing there like a bunch of runway models?" Remy flipped his bo-staff and gave the two another stern glare. He took a step back and slammed his bo-staff into the ground, lifting himself back up into the same window he came from. He poked his head outside and looked down at Pietro and Avalanche, who still stood there.

"Sashay! Sashay, _mon amis._"

_*_

_*_

John wanted to burn something. _Bad_. He had his lighter read. In fact a flame already in his hand, itching to grow bigger, but Juggernaut wasn't exactly alone. In his big massive hand, lay an unconscious Bella, her shoes off and her hair a mess. He swung his massive arm around, everyone jumping back. As far as John could see, where ever this man walked, a mess was soon behind. Most of the others had hid in the many escape tunnels, while the X-Team handled him. John gave a look over to Kitty, who was busy trying to find a way around the massive man.

"Just phase!" John shouted. He just wanted to burn things already. The quicker Kitty did something, the quicker he could. But the girl was so slow and panicky.

"Pyro!" Shouted Piotr, motioning to tell him that everyone was going to run. What was wrong with fighting right here? Sure it was right in the middle of the hallway, but what was so bad about that? The entire frontal half of the Mansion was already wrecked, some of the bedrooms on the upper level, now outside. Going somewhere else was just stupid. John turned a corner, he had a plan. He was going to attack from behind. The Juggernaut couldn't even turn his head without turning his whole body. All he needed to do was heat him up enough to drop Bella, seeing as how Kitty was anything but helpful. John huffed as he ran, lighting up his lighter once again and catching the flame in his hand. He skidded to a halt, watching as the massive Juggo slammed through the halls. He was ready to flame him, when Kitty popped out from the middle of his back, Bella in her hands. _About time_.

The Juggernaut stopped, already turning his massive body. A sudden tremor rocked the floor, sending everyone to their knees. John turned his head, seeing Avalanche, his foot on the floor and his body hunched over, hands clenched. Pietro standing next to him, then he wasn't. He looked back up, Kitty and Bella out of harms way. And _now_....he could play.

John never smirked so hard in his life. It was exhilarating, the surge of adrenaline flowing through his body. He formed a nice big flame in his hand, and closed his lighter, sticking it back in his pocket. He placed his other hand over the flame and waited for Juggernaut to turn around.

"Aho! Playing with fire, are we?" The Juggernaut bellowed, his beady little eyes glaring from beneath his helmet.

John let out a laugh. "Nobody's playing..." He threw the fire out of his hand, outstretching his hand and the fire engulfing the metal clodded man. "Getting toasty?" John laughed, taking a step forward and making the flame bigger. It had been a long time since he used his powers to this extent, and he was loving each and last minute of it. He watched as the metal man heated up in his suit, his arms flailing about.

"John! Stop! You're killing him!" Kitty's voice shouted, but he payed no mind. Why shouldn't this man die? He was nothing but bottom feeding scum. John took another step forward, his flames spilling out into nearby rooms and burning the wooden floor. The delicious smell of fire filling the air.

Then, he felt it. John knew what was happening and it was making him mad. He looked over to Rogue, her bare hand over his arm, tightly gripping him. He shot her a angry glare, and tried to pull back from her but he stumbled, his body weak. He fell to his knees, Rogue's arm still on him. She was controlling the fire now, not him. Finally she let go of him and he pulled his arm back to him. He felt stupid. Rogue had taken away his fun so quickly. He pushed himself against the wall, and watched as the Juggernaut fell to the ground. Rogue shot him a look and ran off with Kitty. She phased them both through the Juggernaut, and soon came back with Piotr and Gambit, the two beginning to quickly take off his helmet. But for what? It wasn't going to stop him. The soon phased out, Juggernaut getting back up on his knees and swishing his hand, slamming Kitty Pryde into a nearby wall.

"Get up." Avalanche grumbled to John. "I'm going to shake the place up." Without giving John a chance to respond, Avalanche slammed his foot back on the ground, the floor waving up and slamming into Juggernaut, who still stood against it.

"No one can stop the mighty, Juggernaut!" He roared into laughter the wood hitting him in the face, but he didn't budge from his spot. He looked down to his burnt arms and let out another laugh.

Colossus ran over to Kitty, helping her up and giving her to Remy. So he was the mighty Juggernaut. Well, he was the mighty Colossus. Forming his organic metal around him, Colossus ran toward Juggernaut, ramming into him with his shoulder and pushing the giant onto his knees. He stepped his boot over the man's back and pushed down, slamming his hands down and pushing the giant into the ground.

"Try to stop the mighty Colossus!" Piotr smiled, still in happy spirits. The Juggernaut lifted himself up from the floor, stretching out and sending Piotr flying back. He turned around, ignoring the flame John was sending his way.

"It only tickles now!" He smiled, yelling to John who was behind him. He clapped his massive hands together, going back a few feet as Colossus rammed back into his, the two; hands smacked together and pushing.

Gambit lurked into the hallway, after settling Kitty down somewhere safe. He smiled as Colossus wrestled Juggo. He pulled out his trusty deck of cards from his inner pocket and shuffled them. Nonchalantly, he walked toward Colossus, and looked at Juggernaut with a mock smile.

"How does _Le Géant_, like cards?" Remy asked, still shuffling his cards in a fancy way. He looked up, a bit angry that the Giant hadn't responded. Guess he was too busy playing around with Colossus. "_Hé!_!" Remy called out annoyed. He sent out a charged card toward the Juggernaut's face and watched as he stumbled back, giving Colossus an upper hand. "Remy was talking, be polite?"

Juggernaut ignored him, concentrating back on Colossus. Remy growled, sending another card to the man's face. With each step he took back, Remy and Colossus took a step forward. Colossus pushing and Remy throwing his cards. Remy began to throw his cards faster, annoyed that the metal man wasn't even acknowledging him. He threw them faster and harder, Colossus pushing faster. All they needed was to get him out of the school, and so far it was working.

Suddenly, Kurt appeared. Remy gave him a salute, showing him his last card before he threw it at the Juggernaut. The man stumbled back and and Piotr gave him one last solid push into the ground. Quickly, Kurt landed on top of him, and then the two disappeared. Just like that. Releasing his metal form, Colossus got up and gave a high five to Remy, who was still......_very_ annoyed.

"Why couldn't _Le Bleu_, do that in the first place?!"

________________


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**: Bring on the Bullets! Pt 1

Logan walked out of the jet feeling a bit woozy. He wasn't one for flying, but if he had to he would do it. He shook his head and patted his gurgling stomach, looking up into the black sky. It had started to rain, with each minute, getting worse and worse. He didn't like the rain much, if it wasn't ruining his hair, it was ruining his sense of smell.

"You got anything?" Scott Summers asked, walking up toward Logan as he fixed his ruby quartz visor. He ran his gloved hand threw his, now, wet hair and looked back to Logan. "Guess that's a no."

Logan huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't like taking orders from this little puny guy. "Took you long enough to find out." Logan shot a glare over to the Cyclops.

"Look, let's try to cut it out with that. We're here to find Alyce." Scott said, matter-o-factly. Logan hated the way Scott was. A pompous prick. How did Jean deal with him? Let alone have sex with the man? A mental image of the two under the sheets slammed into Logan's mind and he shuddered.

"I'm sure the kid is fine. She can manage her own." Growled Logan, who was still trying to burn the mental image from his head.

Jean let out a sigh, the two men stopping their bickering and behaving. She raised an eyebrow at Logan, then Scott. _Please Behave_, the look read. The two men nodded, Logan rather reluctantly, and the troupe waited as Storm came out of the Jet with the Professor. With a grim look on his face, the Professor nodded his head toward Logan, giving him the cue to go on ahead.

Triumph in his face, Logan smirked over to Scott and walked through the grassy field to the abandoned, run down Mansion.

*

*

It took some convincing, on Alyce's part, to prevent Charlie from shooting up Emma's team. As soon as Charlie had saw the little group, she swung her gun and was ready to fire. Even though Charlie didn't want to admit it, Alyce could tell it was because she was startled. Santo had rammed into the room they were in and just stood there, his beady eyes glaring. Cessily followed soon after, also wondering what was going on.

"Rocky and Silver Light!" Charlie taunted, laughing as Cessily hid behind Santo. She just loved making others feel uncomfortable in her presence. She looked down over to Alyce, the girl's face stern. She looked over to Ray, his face just as stern. Didn't anyone know how to have fun? Everyone was just so grim and groggy. Letting out a loud sigh, Charlie nudged Alyce.

"_Que Paso?_" She asked annoyed. "Can't a girl have some fun?"

Alyce smiled and waved off Santo and Cessily. She didn't know why they were there in the first place. Emma didn't need them, not when she had a soldiers at her beck and call. The two just stood standing there, like a pair of puppets waiting for their strings to be pulled. What was up with that? Slowly, Alyce leaned in close to Charlie. "When you find Emma, feel free."

A huge grin plastered itself on Charlie's face and she gave Alyce a firm pat on the back. "_Chica, _I like how ya' think.....buh' these two don't look so happy to see ya'...." The troupe took a step back, Ray pushing himself in front of the two, watching as Cessily and Santo crept toward them. Charlie shot a worried look over to Alyce, and Alyce did the same, both wondering if they had an answer for what was going on. They shrugged at each other, and suddenly Emma Frost appeared at the door.

"HEY!" Charlie shouted, pointing her finger in excitement at the door. She had been waiting for this lady in white to show up. She looked at Alyce with a grin and held up her small pistol and kissed it. "_¡Celebración!_" Charlie laughed, pulling Ray by his arm and running out of the other door. The two were going to have their fun with this white wicked lady. Alyce watched with wonder as Emma spun around from where she stood, a hand shooting out and grabbing her by her cape. She disappeared from sight and a series of loud crashes and laughter were heard (not to mention some yelling on Emma's part).

Alyce let a small croak bubble out of her throat. As much as she could take on the two, she would've loved some help from Charlie. With doe eyes she looked back toward Cessily and Santo, the two obviously under some sort of trance. Didn't take a genius to know who had done this to them. Glimpses of the fight that had happened before, with them, flashed through Alyce's mind. She looked at Cessily, hoping she wouldn't get another boot to the face. She had learned a few things from their last fight, and she was going to win this.

*

*

Charlie had abandoned her massive gun, and holstered her pistol. She cracked her knuckles and jogged around, throwing her fists at the air. She glanced over at Ray and threw him an air kiss, he chuckled lightly, shooting his gaze to Emma. Charlie rolled her eyes and stopped hopping about. She knew Ray was nervous. But what for? The two of them had their share of tough fights, so how was this any different?

"So when is this going to start?"

Charlie looked over to Emma with an annoyed look. She watched as Emma fixed up her cape, swiping at her shoulder with her gloved hand. She smoothed out her hair and placed her hands on her hips. Emma gave out another sigh. "Well? You want to fight me don't you?"

"Fightin' is fun, but killin' is always a bit _more_ fun..." Charlie took a step forward getting into a fighting stance. She gave Emma her best shit eating grin. Charlie _knew_ she was going to win this, and whether Ray wanted to join or not was not problem to her. If he didn't that was fine. More fun for her.

"Why would you even want to fight me? Let alone kill me?" Emma asked, surprised. Not so much surprised as you would think. It seemed a lot of people wished her ill luck. No matter, Emma returned Charlie her shit eating grin and took off her cape. Just because she wore heels didn't mean she couldn't fight in them.

"It doesn't—-" Charlie ran forward and lifted her body up into the air with her left foot. She sent her knee up on her right, sending it straight for Emma's face. "--_**matter!**_" Her knee slapped onto Emma's hand. Reacting quickly, Charlie sent her fist down toward her face. There was no way this woman was going to block _that._

Emma smiled up to Charlie, watching as the she brought back her fist upon seeing Emma's skin harden and glisten into white diamonds. Emma pushed down on Charlie's knee sending her back on her feet. But this girl was quick. As soon as her feet touched the ground, her fists shot out toward Emma and she found herself stumbling back. "You really thing you can beat me?" Emma smiled, her diamond-ized cheeks pulling back and glistening. She took her steps back slowly, bringing up her hands and blocking Charlie's shots.

"Eventually, _puta, _ya' gunna' come crumblin'." Charlie knew a thing or two about this woman. But how? That was her own secret. While Emma did seem invulnerable in her state, there were two major flaws in the prized rock. One; She couldn't use her telepathic abilities. Whatever Charlie was going to do, she had no idea of. Two; Soft Spot. Right. Between. The. Eyes. Charlie was sure if she got a nice good hit, she could take his woman down. But once again, how she knew these things....._seriously_, it's a secret. Charlie took a quick step back, and crouched down, sending a fast quick to Emma's knees.

It hurt like a _bitch._

Her leg ached as it connected, but Emma wobbled, not expecting a kick. Charlie sent out a laugh and reached her hand behind her, Ray pulling her up to her feet. She leaned on him as she massaged her leg for a bit, watching as Emma hit the floor hard. The floor beneath her caving in a bit from the pressure. Ray patted her back, his way of asking if she was ok. She nodded and twirled back to Emma Seeing this as an opportunity to get at Emma' weak spot, Charlie sent her palm toward Emma's face, but the woman dashed out of the way, leaving Charlie to do a mock handstand.

Charlie let out a laugh as she let herself down from the air. She stood up and looked at Emma, brushing her black hair out of her face and putting her hands on her hips. "'Ya tired?" Charlie asked, huffing out but giving Emma a grin.

Emma shook her head, her skin glistening. She shrugged and lifted up her hands. "Never gunna' get tired, honey."

Charlie let out a growl. "Don't call me one of your pet names...." She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. She didn't need to be called honey. She was anything but sappy and sweet.

"Oh?" Emma smiled, coyly sticking out her hands. She clapped then together and whistled over to Charlie. "C'mon, little girl...come on...come _play." _Her laughter filled the air as Charlie angrily charged at her. Her hits were hard, she obviously didn't care if her hands broke while she hit. Furious, Charlie grabbed at her gun, pulling it out of it's holster and jumping up. Emma brought up her hands, and Charlie leaned her knees on Emma's shoulders. She aimed her gun in between Emma's eyes.

"Play with _this_, bitch."


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**: Bring on the Bullets! Pt 2

The moment between the two was sheer amusement. On Charlie's part. Nothing was more exciting than giving this woman what she deserved. Emma looked like a bitch to begin with. On Emma's part, she didn't look so happy. The moment felt in slow motion, Charlie's finger itching to pull the trigger. She had this bitch. Hook, Line, Sinker. Her finger was pulling back on the trigger, she could feel the gun get hot in her hand. This was it. Charlie was going to obliterate her.

And Emma let out a laugh.

Charlie flew back, her gun firing but missing it's mark.

"_CONYO!"_ Charlie cursed as her back slammed into the wall with a thud. She shook her head, feeling around the ground for her gun. Instead she touched a boot, and when she looked up, she saw that Alyce had rammed into her. Angrily, Charlie shoved her hand on Alyce's leg. "_Que fue?"_ Charlie mumbled, getting up to her feet. She shook off the dizziness and stuck out her hand for Alyce.

"What's wrong with 'ya?" Charlie asked, facing toward Emma but talking to Alyce. She checked the clip in her gun and wiggled the gun at Emma. Alyce let out a huff and took off her jacket. She wrapped it around her waist and rolled her shoulders.

"Sorry about that..." Alyce growled, looking up from where she fell. Santo had thrown her off the second floor balcony. "Thanks for breaking my fall...."

"Yea, yea yea..." Charlie rolled her eyes and winked at Alyce, the two heading their separate ways to fight their opponents. She shot a look over to Ray. What he had been doing the entire time, she didn't know. But it was time he got into this. "Charge it up, _chico_!"

*

*

Alyce could feel her hair stand up as she jumped back up to the second floor. Taking a quick look, she spotted Ray, his hands clenched and blue electricity spilling out of his hands. He joined Charlie at her side, the two of them running toward Emma. Alyce wanted to stay and watch, but she could already feel the thuds on the floor. Santo was ready for round two. Before she would open her mouth, to try to talk him out of him, a metallic hand shot out, punching into her face. Alyce stumbled back, reaching out her hand and grabbing onto Cessily. She cocked back her fist and was ready to punch, when a cold liquid wrapped around her body.

Why did Alyce have to get the short end of the stick?

Quickly, Alyce phased through the floor, Cessily with her. She heard Santo grumbled as he missed his hit. She stumbled off the second floor and slammed onto the floor beneath. He landed on his feet however, and Alyce wondered if he was really a cat. Pushing out of Cessily's grip, Alyce wobbled. She took a quick look back, watching as Ray shot his electricity at Emma. What if she could get Cessily in that line of fire? It was worth a shot. Handling both of them was just too much. Running, Alyce leapt up over Charlie and Ray, using her tentacles, ignoring as Charlie cursed at her.

"Gettin' in the way!" Charlie shouted, her body moving quick as she sent another flurry of punches and kick at Emma. She hopped back, Santo rushing by her and heading for Alyce. Alyce hopped to the side. Santo, not Cessily. She watched as Cessily plastered herself to the wall. With Ray forming his energy force field all over the first floor, she was pretty much bound to that wall. Guess electricity was her flaw. Dodging Santo's punches, Alyce watched as Cessily tried to walk past the force field. She let out her hand, quickly pulling back.

"Ray!" Alyce called out, sending her tentacle to push back Santo. He looked up over to her, smiling. "_How can I be of service?_" The look read. She gave him a salute and pointed over to Cessily. He nodded and without doing much, a ball of lighting smashed into Cessily. The girl's body began to go haywire, half her body forming into liquid matter and the other solid. Almost like....she was melting. Her body couldn't decide what form to take, and after a few minutes she passed out on the floor.

Ray shot a raised eyebrow over to Alyce. "_Was that supposed to happen?"_ Alyce laughed and gave him a thumbs up. Now, she could focus on Santo. She let go of her hold on him, and he shot up off the ground, running toward her once again. She squeezed her hands together, forming the same rock substance on them, and stuck them out, Santo running into her. He pushed her back, her boots digging into the floor and pulling back as Santo continued to push. The sooner Charlie finished off Emma, the sooner things with Santo would stop. Alyce took a step forward, giving Santo a firm push. He was caught off guard and stumbled back, Alyce taking his as her chance to give him a few punches. She looked over to Charlie who was still fighting Emma.

Alyce could tell what she was aiming for, she just wasn't getting it. Alyce hoped up, rock forming over her boot, and slammed herself down on Santo. He groaned, grabbing on her foot and throwing her up into the air. It was actually pretty fun. Alyce decided, that staying up in the air would be fun. As Santo ran back up the stairs to try to catch her, Alyce took this as her chance to help Charlie. She shot out a black tentacle and it slithered toward Emma. It wrapped around her legs, and pulled back, Emma falling and Charlie's palm connecting with her face.

"Didn't really need the help!" Charlie yelled, punching Emma as she returned to her normal form. Alyce laughed, settling herself down onto the floor, sending another tentacle to hold Santo in place. He was going to be angry when he found out what happened to Cessily. Still, Alyce was glad that Charlie had gotten to Emma, the mesmer she had over Santo; gone.

"I know. It didn't hurt though....did it?"

Charlie laughed, bringing up her fist and slamming it back down on Emma's face, her nose busting and blood gushing. Alyce felt a pang of sadness wash through her. Did Emma really deserve to get beaten into a bloody pulp? Sure the woman did some things that were wrong, ok, a _lot_ of things. But still. Call it being weak, call it being lame. Whatever. Alyce walked up to Charlie and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Charlie..." Alyce murmured. Charlie still punched, Emma still trying to fight back. Alyce squeezed Charlie's shoulder and, as if a miracle, Charlie stopped. She held onto Emma's neck, looking at Alyce as if she was stupid. Alyce looked at Emma, her face splattered with blood.

"Charlie...." Alyce murmured again and Charlie rolled her eyes. "_Que_ _tu quiere?"_

Alyce gave Charlie a small smile and nodded her head toward Emma. Wait....was Alyce trying to stop Charlie or......no, it couldn't be. Charlie didn't know the girl _so_ well, but there was no way she wanted to get gritty.

"Let me have a shot...."

Ok...Charlie _was_ wrong.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**: Bring on the Bullets! Pt 3

Logan didn't want to hurt the kid. But the feeling of ice eating away at your skin wasn't such a nice feeling. Sighing, Logan punched the ice that was frozen over on his leg. He stumbled out, his leg numb. He punched it, trying to get the feeling back and eventually it did. He looked up and shot Bobby a look.

"What a nice way to say hi, kid." Logan rolled his eyes. What was his problem? More importantly, why was Bobby Drake even here? "You here with Alyce?"

The two shared another moment of silence, with Logan just feeling stupid. He gave Bobby a plain look crossing his arms over his chest, the leather squeaking with protest, and waited. He raised an eyebrow and let out a snort. "You deaf?" Logan asked, sighing with defeat at loosing the silent contest. He let his arms drop, just as soon as he did, another hit of ice slammed into his chest sending him to the floor.

"Alright, kid, I'm not going to play nice...." Logan spit up a little blood, wincing as he felt his collar bone heal up. Regaining his composure, he got up from where he was pushed down and brushed off the ice from his suit. What was wrong with this boy? Logan sighed and let loose his claws, slicing another hunk of ice that was thrown at him. "You really gunna keep doing that?"

Bobby didn't answer. All these people, these X-Men, had betrayed him. They held him back from his true potential. It was Emma who had embraced his powers, instead of holding them back, and let him do as he pleased. He wasn't going to loose that. She had placed him at the front of the Mansion to stop anyone else who came. That was what he was going to do.

Bobby Drake versus The Wolverine.

"I have a job to do, _Wolverine_--" The name rolling off of Bobby's tongue in disgust. "---expect me to keep doing it." He extended his arm out, a thick icy mist pushing out into the air and enveloping the Wolverine. Bobby let out a small chuckle, followed by a smirk, as he watched Logan freeze, mid step, inside the block of ice. _Too easy._ Bobby smiled and walked up to the ice, placing his hand on it and tapping it. "Hey-o, Mister Logan...."

Suddenly, Logan's hand shot out from the ice, grabbing Bobby by his neck. The ice cracked and soon gave way, Logan sneering and coming close to Bobby's face. "Hey-_o_, Bobby." He was ready to throw the kid back into the wall, when a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Logan?"

Logan growled, looking over his shoulder to Storm. "You see I'm busy?" He said, looking back toward Bobby, who was now.....scared shitless. She squeezed his shoulder, the gesture for him to let him go. But she obviously didn't see what had happened. Logan rolled his shoulder out of her grip and pushed Bobby to the floor. He gave him a stern look. "_Do something else, you little shit, and you'll see what I'll do."_ The fierce look read. He took a fake step forward, causing Bobby to flinch, which caused Logan to let out a laugh. Bobby was acting so tough a few minutes ago, he gave Logan a false sense of hope. He _really_ wanted a fight. He took a step aside as Jean came into the Mansion. She knelt down next to Bobby, who still looked at Logan with an intense fear. She placed her hands on both sides of his head, and he soon drifted off into a sleep.

"Well....._that_ was eventful." Logan murmured as he walked off to explore other parts of the Mansion. Jean sighed and watched as Logan walked off. She pulled Bobby up off the ground, with Ororo's help and handed him over to Scott. She began to walk in Logan's direction when a loud crash was heard. Alarmed, Jean jogged over to the huge double doors of the Mansion. She rammed into them and looked around. There on the floor, was Logan. On top of him, in a hug, was Charlie. Jean smiled as Logan got up, and Charlie threw herself into his arms once more. The two looked over to her, and Jean waved. She received a toothy grin from Charlie and an embarrassed smile from Logan. Jean noticed the blood dripping from Charlie's hands and grew alarmed.

"Alyce is having her fun." Charlie answered, pointing behind her to another door. Jean walked over, the door begin held open by Ray. She peered inside, her eyes widening at what she saw. There, literally , sitting on top of Emma, was Alyce. The girl smiled and scratched the back of her head, blood specked on her hands and sprayed all over her face. Jean jogged over, kneeling down and looking down to Emma. She didn't like the woman.....but what Charlie and Alyce did was monstrous.

Jean glared at Alyce and she sighed, slumping down off Emma and sitting on the floor. Alyce sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve, shrugging.

"You know she deserved it." Alyce chided.

Jean rolled her eyes and shook her head. She gently repositioned Emma' head and surveyed the damage. The woman was knocked unconscious, a _very_ obvious broken nose, a busted lip, and a split eyebrow. Not to mention her right eye, which was already swollen shut. At least she was still breathing.

Jean bit her lip and looked back to Alyce. "She _did_, but still...."

Alyce got up from where she sat and slipped her arms into her jacket. She leaned over and spat the blood that had been collecting in her mouth. Santo throwing her off the balcony had did a toll on her. She zippered up her jacket and caught Jean's eye. "_Ray helped me with Cessily, and Santo is near the stair case_...."

"Alyce...._why_." Jean asked, responding to Alyce's thoughts. Alyce shrugged.

"Hey, they attacked me. It was justified. Is the Professor with you?" Alyce rolled her eyes, Jean still glaring. "Look, I'm sorry. Cessily and Santo are just fine. Charlie did to Emma what everyone else wanted to do, I just finished it off a bit."

Seeing there was no way that she was going to get through to Alyce, Jean accepted her mock apology. She pointed to the door she came through. "The Professor should already be in the foyer."

Alyce took a step forward, but stopped. "I'm not a monster, Dr. Grey." Alyce wiped her blood specked hands on her pants and continued to walk toward the door.

*

*

Where this mock Cerebro was, Alyce had no idea. Neither did the Professor and with Emma in la la land, they couldn't ask her. Jean had tried to dig into her mind, but Emma had her information extremely well hidden. Now what? Everyone was thinking just that. Charlie had dragged Logan back to the yet, they had some more catching up to do. Ray helped Scott drag the heavy Santo back into the jet. Ororo had to wake Bobby up so he could freeze Cessily and turn half her body back into a solid. They disappeared into the jet as well. Left was Jean, Alyce and a not so happy Professor.

"Do I dare say....where would _you_ have put the thing?" Alyce asked. "In this house, that it?" Alyce was being honest. Charles had built the first one, so maybe Emma took some inspiration. Emma had never _seen_ the lower levels, however.

"Emma said something about it being in the lower levels." Alyce suddenly remembered. She felt stupid for not digging into her brain sooner. "When I snuck in, she didn't say anything about it even being built, so there's no point in being here."

"On the contrary, she could have something already beginning down there." The Professor looked over to Jean, who was holding onto the unconscious Emma. The two nodded in some mental agreement, Alyce feeling left out, and Jean made her way out of the Mansion.

"What was that about?" Alyce asked, sounding more rude than she thought. Maybe Charlie's personality had rubbed off on her a bit _too_ much. She gave the Professor an apologetic look and he smiled.

"We're leaving you to find out what's going...." Charles nodded, chuckling upon seeing Alyce's face grow pale. "Think of it...as a _punishment._"

Alyce couldn't believe what she was hearing. "For what?" She asked, outstretching her hand as the Professor wheeled out of the house. "Is it for punching Emma? _C'mon!"_ Alyce groaned and scratched her head as the Professor ignored her and disappeared.

"We'll wait for you outside." He called back raising a hand, signaling 'good luck'.

Feeling defeated, and feeling as if she was five years old, Alyce kicked the air and growled. "Where's my dunce cap?" She asked herself. She patted her head and a small triangle cap plopped on her head. "There it is...." She placed her hands on her hips and looked around the Mansion. She knew her way around the upper levels, but downstairs she didn't. Alyce hopped the Professor was willing to wait a long time, she knew she was going to get lost.

Next time, Alyce would think before she hit.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**: In A State

Alyce had finally managed to find her way to the lower levels of the gigantic mansion. It felt as if she had been searching for the basement for days, instead of only a few minutes. She could already feel a headache coming on as she tried to push open the basement door. Dust flew off of the door, but it still did not budge. Sighing, Alyce gave the wooden door another smack with her shoulder and it finally gave in. She wiped the dust that had fallen on her face and let out a huff, trying to suppress the sneeze she felt coming up. Alyce slapped her hand over her nose and stepped through the door. Not even two feet in lay a stair case. It wasn't made of the decaying wood, like the rest of the house, but instead it was made out of a hard stone.

Alyce wiped at her nose again, the sneezing feeling going away. Now all she had to worry about was her eyes tearing up from the dust. She groaned to herself as she walked down the stone steps, steadying herself on the wall with her other hand. The farther she got down the darker it got. Colder as well. Alyce rubbed her arms with her hands, forming a thick leather jacket around her upper body. Her boots clunked loudly against the stone steps, the sound echoing throughout the massive basement. And it was massive.

"Holy..._crap_." Alyce muttered as she took the last step down. The first thing she marveled at was the large chasm right in the middle of the room. Alyce took a step forward, even more surprised that inside the chasm lay sparkling clear water. The entire room had to be as big as the ground level of the Institute. Surrounded on all four sides lay more water even small lights. Emma wasn't wasting no time when it came to her business.

Out of sheer curiosity, Alyce dipped the tip of her boot inside the water in front of her. She moved her boot around and began to notice that it wasn't really water. She made a sour face and took her boot out of the mysterious liquid. Alyce scanned the large room, there was nothing in sight. Just the chasms and the mystery goo inside them. Nothing more, nothing less. Alyce sighed, her breath hanging in the air in a white mist. It was getting colder by the second and she had no idea why.

"Are..." "....You...." "...Cold?"

Alyce turned her head, surprised at hearing someone talk. She squinted her eyes and tried to look past the darkness, but her blue eyes found nothing. She shuddered upon feeling a cool breeze. "Who's there?" Alyce asked as she took a step forward to where she thought the voices were coming from. She received no answer, but she kept walking. There had to be someone here, she just wasn't imagining things, hearing things.

"It..." "...Is..." ".....Cold....isn't it?"

"Not that cold." Alyce answered. If she could get this mysterious person to keep on talking then she could find out which direction to walk. But she didn't really know what to say. First of, she couldn't even see the person. Talking to the dark wasn't exactly fun. Alyce stopped in her tracks and waited.

"Why..." "....Are you...."....Stopping?"

"Why are you talking like that?" Alyce asked into the air. "Are you ok? Do you need help?" This woman speaking, she sounded as if her voice was being thrown from all corners of the basement. With the stone on the floor and the water around the, it didn't help at all, if anything it made her voice echo. Alyce slapped her hands together and formed a flashlight in her hands. The small bulbous lights around the room were not helping. The headache that was forming before, was now pounding at her temples from squinting her eyes. The flashlight turned on and Alyce jerked it across the room, trying to find the source of the voice she was hearing. She scanned the room once more with her light and finally stopped. In front of her, there wasn't one woman. There was three. And they all looked alike.

Talk about the Twilight Zone.

"Who are you?" Alyce asked, rather shocked at seeing the three girls. They sat on stone chairs on top of a stone pedestal. They held hands with each other, their heads tilted to the side. They blinked rhythmatically and all breathed at the same time, their chests rising and falling in unison. Upon closer inspection, Alyce noticed what seemed to be helmets on their heads, behind them a small tubular machine. Wait....was Emma using _them_ as her make-shift Cerebro?

"We..." The first blond haired, blue eyed girl spoke.

"Are the...." The second girl, the one who sat in the middle lifted up her head and smiled over to Alyce.

"Three in one..." The last identical girl spoke.

Alyce smiled back at all three of the girls and nodded her head. She didn't want to be rude and ask them for their real names. If they wanted to be called Three-In-One, then Alyce was fine with calling them that. Alyce took another look at them, an odd feeling of Deja' Vu. Their blond hair, the blue eyes. Were they Emma Frost's daughters? Were they evil?

The three girls let out a chuckle. "We..." "Are...." "..._Not _evil...."

Telepaths.

Alyce slowly walked up to where they sat and began to examine in the machine. "Does this thing hurt you?" As much as Alyce was weary about helping them, what Emma was doing to them was just wrong. They were young and whatever they were attached to was causing them some sort of mental strain. When one of them fluttered out of unconsciousness the other two soon followed, which caused Alyce to have to wait for them to wake up.

The girl in the middle woke up first, and she looked over toward Alyce. "My name is Celeste...this is--" Celeste nodded to the girl on her left. "Mindee and the other is Phoebe."

"I'm going to get you guys out of here. Those helmets don't look so comfy." Alyce made her way to Celeste and gently placed her hands on either side of the helmet.

"Please...don't." Celeste mumbled. She looked up to Alyce, her eyes filled with tears. "We were made for this purpose, to do what Emma wants us to do."

Alyce looked at Celeste with a mock horror. She couldn't believe that this was girl was saying."Made? You can't be planning to sit here for years on end with your sisters, do you?"

Celeste shook her head, more so of a disagreement than an agreement. "We all would love that, but it is not up to us--"

"It is up to you. You three aren't animals that Emma can herd and use for her own." Alyce watched as Celeste looked away, she grabbed harder on her two sisters' hands.

"We've been here, for _so_ long." Celeste murmured. "My first memories are here, waking up in here. In this dark room. If you take off this helmet.....we _will_ die."

Alyce gently traced her hand over the cold metallic helmet. "How do you know? Did Emma tell you that?"

"Yes..."

Alyce looked over to Mindee. She wiped at her eyes and took in a deep breath. "Emma told us many things. Other than her, you are the first contact we have made with the outside world." Mindee looked over to the side, watching as her other sister, Phoebe stirred awake.

"Even though, we see the outside world everyday." Mindee spoke weakly. "We see everyone and everything, all in our minds. But disconnecting from this machine will kill us. It's been keeping us alive."

Alyce sighed and walked behind the three sisters. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the small tubular machine. A neon blue liquid swerved around, bubbles forming and popping. "Emma is a evil woman..."

"We know." All three sisters spoke. "By..." "...The..." "....Way...."

Alyce knelt down and placed her hands on the machine. It was cold to the touch, it must've been the machine that was emitting the cold around the room. A part of Alyce wanted to ask what was the weird liquid around the room, but she decided against it. "By the way what?" Alyce asked.

"Call..." "...Us...The..." "....Stepford Cuckoos."

The Stepford Cuckoos. Weird title. Alyce shrugged it off and walked back in front of the troupe. "We can either try to get you out of this machine, or you can stay put if you want too."

"But...." "....We--"

"You're _not_ going to die." Alyce reassured as she took off her leather jacket. She wrapped it around her waist and placed her hands on her hips. "Emma Frost only speaks lies. She's caused me and my family a lot of problems. I know better than to believe her....and so should you three. Now....are you ready?" Alyce took a few minutes to look at each girl. Slowly, they nodded their heads in agreement. Emma really had them scared. That woman knew no bounds when it came to messing up people's lives. Her own daughters? Wrong...just wrong. Alyce clapped her hands together and made her way to Celeste. She placed her hands on either side of the helmet and looked down at the girl. All three of them smiled, their eyes glistening.

"We are...." "....._not_ going...." "...to die."

_________________________________

A/N: Oh, hey there. I'm back :)


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**: Soft Touch

As Alyce breathed up the dust from the floor, she suddenly wished she had a huge pack of mothballs. A monster pack of three hundred or even more, just something. Alyce slowly got up from the floor and looked around the room. She looked over to the Stepford Cuckoos, all their faces plastered with worry. Alyce wiped the dust from her face and looked up toward the ceiling.

Where was that...._thing_?

Not even a few seconds that Alyce had placed her hands on Celeste's helmet something swooped down and slammed into her. It was big, and it was fuzzy and Alyce could make out the flutter of wings. She had caught a glimpse, when she fell down, of the thing that knocked into her. One word; Moth. That was why Alyce wished she had some. Even if she did make a bag of the tiny little orbs, Alyce was sure they wouldn't work. She wasn't dealing with the regular little moths that smacked themselves into lights. She was dealing with a humanoid insect. Just her luck.

"Don't...." "...Kill...." "...Her!" The three sisters called out, causing Alyce to jump at how loud their voices were.

"Why not?" Alyce called back, dodging the humanoid insect that sped past her. She really wasn't going to kill this insect, but if she kept attacking then Alyce was going to have to do _something_. She wasn't going to stand still and let this insect girl beat her up. Alyce shot the sisters a look, she knew they could read her mind. They all sat back and hung their head low, shaking from side to side.

Alyce sighed. "Ok, fine. I'll take it easy." The girls looked up and gave Alyce a smile, but soon their faces turned to horror and Alyce looked in the direction they stared. Before she could react, a pair of fuzzy arms wrapped around her waist and launched her into the air. Quickly forming her amour over her hands, Alyce clenched onto the ceiling. She could get rid of this moth girl in two seconds, but not with the sisters here. There was the chance that one of her tentacles would knock into the machine, or even worse; the sisters. Alyce let go of the ceiling and landed on the floor, she side stepped to avoid the small falling debris. Weren't moths attracted to light? What were the chances that this girl was?

"Who is she anyway?" Alyce clapped her hands together and formed a flood light. She turned it on and quickly placed it on the floor, kicking it across the floor to another part of the basement. Better to try than to not try at all. Alyce looked around cautiously, ready to react if the moth girl did come flying back in her direction.

"She is the one who watches us." Celeste spoke. "Emma hired her to be here..."

A funny scent crept up Alyce's nose and she wiggled her nose. She glanced over to the flood light, but all she saw was floating dust. No moth girl. "You're all telepaths. Why not just mess with her mind?" Alyce knew all to well about having her mind messed with. If Emma could do it then the sisters should be able to. Right? Alyce glanced over to the sisters. The looks on their faces read; "We never thought of that."

How young were they?

The sound of fluttering wings caught Alyce's attention. She quickly brought her attention to the flood light that lay some ways across from her. She took a defensive stance as the sound of the wings grew closer. Her eyes flashed near the flood light, but still there was no moth girl to be found. Alyce cursed to herself and bit her bottom lip. She just wanted to get the Cuckoo's out of the basement and out into the air. Was that so wrong that a mutant insect girl had to stop her?

"Watch out!" The Cuckoo's shouted. Alyce quickly hugged the floor, prickly arms brushing the back of her neck. She rolled over on her back and sent out a tentacle. It latched onto the insect girl's leg and dragged her to the ground. Alyce sent out another tentacle, pinning down the girl's wings.

"I'm not hurting her." Alyce stated, goose bumps forming on her arms from the brush against the back of her neck. The sisters sat back down in their seats, giving Alyce a firm glare. She shrugged and sighed. Alyce was sure that if these girls wanted to kill her, they so could. Being on their good side was a top priority. Reclining up on her elbows, Alyce watched as the moth girl tried to escape her hold. She looked back at Alyce, her big alien like eyes glaring at her. She had a tiny mouth, lipsticked with bright red. Her pixie like hair was coloured a bright pink and her ears were pointy. She stuck out her tongue at Alyce.

"I am _not_ a moth." The girl spat, still struggling to get out of her restraints. She cursed to herself and bit her lip and she tried to flutter her wings.

"You have hairy arms!" Alyce countered. The girl looked down at her arms and sighed, resting her head on the floor.

"It's called arm guards...made out of _fur_..."

Alyce wasn't sure if she should let her guard down. She rolled her eyes and got up from the floor, her tentacles still holding the girl down. "Well, I can't exactly tell when you're flying past me in the dark. Now can I?"

The girl with pink hair laughed. "Maybe you're blind?"

Alyce growled and shot a questioning look over to the Cuckoos. They all chuckled softly to each other, and Alyce began to wonder if this was set up from the beginning. She crossed her arms across her chest and glared from the pink haired girl to the laughing Cuckoos. "What the _fuck_ is going on?"

"Pixie...." "....is often..." "...controlled by Emma..."

"What like, _mind_ control?" Alyce asked, wearily looking at Pixie. So this girl could snap at any moment? Like she did before when she lifted Alyce up off her feet? The girl, now known as Pixie, chuckled.

"Ah_duh._ You don't look so smart..."

Alyce made her way to the girl and crouched down next to her. She gave Pixie her most fiercest glare and the little girl shut up. "How old are you?" Alyce mocked.

"Behind..." "her neck..." "is a device..."

Alyce carefully pushed back Pixie's shaggy hair. There, right on the back of her neck was a small circular chip. Everything here was just getting weirder and weirder. Alyce poked it and looked at Pixie. It didn't look like it hurt. Alyce scratched her finger nail on the small piece of technology, still trying to engage Pixie's reaction.

"Do I _look_ like a scratch-n-sniff to you?" Pixie growled and shook her head, trying to get Alyce's hand away from the back of her neck.

"Do you want me to help you or not? Keep your mouth shut while I try to take this thing out." Alyce placed her hand on Pixie's head and held it against the floor. She wasn't being rough, it was just this girl wouldn't stop moving. Even though she was held down she squirmed like there was no tomorrow. Alyce gripped at the chip and squeezed it. "I thought you were a Pixie, you're moving around like a goddamn worm."

"Why don't you just shu---"

Alyce pulled the small chip out from Pixie's neck and almost immediately the girl fell limp. Quickly, Alyce checked her breathing and sighed in relief. She looked back over to the Cuckoos and gave them an Ok sign. "She's sleeping." Alyce released her grip on Pixie and walked back over to the Cuckoos.

"Now? Can I take of those helmets?"

*

*

The look on Logan's face as Alyce walked out of the Mansion was priceless. She had Pixie (whose real name, she had learned, was Megan Gwynn) on her shoulder, and three identical triplets behind her. As much as Alyce wanted to laugh she had to keep holding her breath. The dust on Pixie's wings could cause her to hallucinate, and it didn't sound so appealing. Alyce motioned for Logan to cover his nose and he took in a deep breath. She handed Pixie to him and motioned over to the Cuckoo's. They were still in the Mansion garden, marveling at the flowers and giggling as butterflies touched their skin.

"Who are they?" Logan asked, after he settled down Pixie in the jet.

"The Cuckoo's..."

"Why do they look like Em-"

Alyce placed a hand on Logan's shoulder and brought her finger up to her lips. The universal sigh for; "_Shhhh._" She gave him a final pat on the shoulder and called over to the Sisters. They smiled and ran up toward Alyce, enveloping her into a hug. Logan watched with curiosity as the group of girls walked into the jet. He wasn't expecting Alyce to bring back anything from Emma's Mansion. They looked like Emma, from their blue eyes to how they walked. It was a good thing Charlie had took Emma in her jeep back to the Mansion. The kids didn't need to see their "mother" like that. If that _was _their mother. Logan had learned that not everything was what it seemed. Not when it involved mutants.

Logan walked up the ramp and stepped inside the Jet. He raised an eyebrow over to Alyce, who was currently getting her hair styled by the Cuckoo's. She shot him an annoyed look and he raised his hands up in his defense. He looked at her and formed a B with his hands. "_Bella is going to be jealous when she finds out."_

Alyce rolled her eyes and shooed away the Cuckoo's, who were now finding interest in Jean's hair. They really were girly girls. "_Bella better __**not**__ be finding out." _Alyce's look spoke to Logan. He let out a huff and sat down behind her. He playfully kicked the back of her seat. They both knew that somehow, word of the Cuckoo's being lovey dovey with Alyce was going to spread. Bella had said many times before that she was Alyce's "personal girly assistant". She took pride in being the only one that Alyce let doll her up. But now it looked like Alyce had three other personal assistants. Logan had to make sure he had front row seats for when Bella found out. Logan kicked at her seat once more before Alyce turned around.

"Stop." She growled, taking out a braid that Mindee had put in her hair. "Or _else_..."

Logan laughed. "Or else what kid? I'm not the one who got owned by a kid with pink hair."

"Oh yea? I'm sure there are three sisters who would _love_ to see you with pink hair." Alyce gave him an impish grin. She formed something in her hands and threw it over to Phoebe, who caught it with a giggle. Before Logan knew what was happening, he had the three Cuckoo's over his hair, a bottle of pink hair dye emptying out onto his black hair. He grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest.

Alyce chuckled. She knew Logan wouldn't be evil and shoo the girls away. He was going to sit there and take it like a man. "Not so tough now, huh, Logan?"


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**: Pixelated Birds

Logan had washed the dye out of his hair. It was a good thing it wasn't permanent, if Charlie would've seen it she would've went nuts. Probably would've taken pictures and sent them to everyone she knew. Full of relief, Logan towel dried his hair vigorously and walked into the one of the lower level rooms. He rubbed at his scalp with his fingers and looked at them to make sure no more pink was in his hair. When he was finally satisfied, he swung the towel over his shoulder and shook his head to get the remnants of water.

"You looked good with pink." Alyce smiled, looking over her shoulder to Logan. He didn't answer with words but a short huff instead. "You really did." Alyce crossed her arms over her chest and looked back to what was in front of her. There, laying down on a infirmary cot, was Emma Frost. A glass wall surrounded her and the hum of machines could be heard and felt through the glass. Jean had cleaned up the blood from her face and tied her hair back. Even unconscious Emma still looked like a bitch.

"What's going to happen?" Alyce asked, knowing well that Logan could hear her. She glanced to the side at Logan. He grabbed the towel from his shoulder and held it tight.

"No idea, kid. What we're more worried about is fixing up the side of the school."

Alyce chuckled. "Did you forget about my powers? My father and I fixed up the side of the Mansion hours ago."

"But it wasn't night time." Logan raised an eyebrow in question. He knew Alyce's father for years, he would know about his powers. Perhaps even better than Alyce knew. Logan gave Alyce a stern glare which caused her to laugh.

"The clouds--" She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to not laugh at Logan's serious face. He really didn't look so intimidating with a head full of wet, dripping hair. "--it rained, the sky got dark."

Logan let out a huff. "Should've thought of that. There's no way you could've pulled of something like that." This time, it was Logan trying to hide the smile from his face. Alyce murmured something and turned on her heel, sitting in a nearby chair. "I was joking, kid. Lighten up."

"Oh, I'm lit up, Logan. I'm just more frustrated on what's going to happen with Emma." Alyce formed an L with her hand and stuck it toward Emma. _Bang Bang_, Alyce mouthed. Logan rolled his eyes at the teen.

"What do you mean what's going to happen? She's going to get fired."

"It's never that easy. Aren't you _old_ enough to know things don't work out so peachy?" Alyce, noticing Logan's annoyed look, picked her hands up in defense. "You know what I mean. Look what happened a few months ago. You're really going to say that what's happened with Emma is officially done?"

Logan plopped the towel back over his shoulder and shook his head from side to side. "You got a lot to learn, kid."

"Well...they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks....I guess they were right."

"Hey!" Logan growled. "Watch it." He pointed a finger at Alyce, wiggling it. The international sign for; "_Stop your shit."_ But Alyce let out a laugh and did the same gesture. This girl had really left her shell since she first came here. He remembered the quiet girl who never spoke a word. She still was like that now but in some instances, much like now, she was anything but. While Alyce giggled, Logan swiftly made his way toward her. He flattened out his palm and swished it through the air.

His intention?

A smack.

Before his hand landed on Alyce's head she had moved out of the way. She hopped out of his reach and smiled. "Now that, is just foul."

"If your parents aren't going to give you a smack of sense then _someone_ has too...."

*

*

Jean Grey noticed something. As she walked throughout the school this something grew more and more obvious.

Everything was back to normal.

The kids who had been friends, turned enemies, were now chatting together. Laughing, joking around, having a good time. Bobby Drake had come to his senses when he woke up and had been in his room the entire time since they got back What he was doing, Jean didn't know, but she knew he was going to be ok. Santo and Cessily had gone back to their normal selves, even apologizing to everyone they had fought ( and beat up).

There was no more animosity. It felt nice to walk down the halls and not have to worry about breaking up a fight or solving an argument. But what would happen when Emma woke up from her slumber? Would she try to take control of everyone's mind again? Would her three "daughters" try to pick up where their "mother" left off? Jean walked passed the day room, spotting the three Cuckoo's playing foosball.

Jean leaned on the door frame, a smile on her face. The three identical girls laughed as Remy ran around the table and tried his best to take on the three. It looked like he was loosing and it was more obvious when he raised his hands up in the air and pretended to faint. Rogue, giggling, rushed to his side and helped him up. The two kissed each other quickly and Remy went back to the challenge, Rogue right by his side.

Jean hoped that this would last. The happiness between everyone. The loving relationship everyone had with each other. The Professor had reassured her that everything would remain the same. But she knew better. Emma Frost was a sneaky woman and if she wasn't planning something in her sleep, she was going to plan something as soon as she woke up. Or did she already have something up her sleeve? Trying her best to push the thought out of her mind, Jean continued to walk through the Mansion. Was it really over? As quickly as all of this had happened, was it really finished? Did Emma feel satisfied?

Jean shook her head to herself. No. Emma couldn't be satisfied. Not when she got beaten to a bloody pulp and almost left for dead. This was just the tip of the ice berg for Emma. Jean didn't know her so well, but from what she had observed she knew Emma wasn't done. Jean wasn't going to let her pull the carpet out of everyone's feet, not again. Jean knew, with her responsibility of taking care of the kids, that she _had_ to find out what was next in Emma's plan. Jean wasn't going to stop until she felt everyone was safe. Jean Grey knew what she had to do. She was going to be daring, she was going to _be_ the dare devil. She was going to risk everything she had to dive into Emma's mind....and hopefully live to tell about it.

She _had_ to.


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**: You Already Know

John was currently having a stare down. Not with one pair of eyes, but with three. So far, he was winning. John leaned his elbows on the table and grabbed his soda, with eyes still locked on he took a sip from his soda. He glimpsed over to the other identical girl, then back to the other two.

"You know, if one of you ladies blink I automatically win."

The Stepford Cuckoos crossed their arms over their chests. All let out the same huff of annoyance.

"That..." "...is..." "....cheating."

John chuckled and took another sip from his cup. "It isn't. You all look alike and you all act the same. It's not cheating at all." John let out a laugh when one of the girls blinked. One did, then the other two followed. It was just like how he said. All the same. He blinked his eyes to take away the stinging and bit into his burger. "What do you want from me anyway?"

Celeste looked at the boy in disgust as he hungrily ate his burger. She didn't understand why some of the boys in this school were so.....uncivilized. She shrugged and her two sisters did the same. "We just wanted to know where Alyce is." Celeste asked. Mindee nodded and Phoebe glared at John.

"How do you even know that I know her?" John wiped his mouth with a napkin and reached over the table for a bottle of ketchup. Before he could grab it, it moved out of his way. He ran his tongue over his teeth and smirked. "So it's like that, then?" He didn't need to be a genius to know what these triplet's powers were.

"We..." "...Just..." "....Know." The Cuckoo's smiled, all amused at seeing John flustered. He reached again for the bottle of ketchup and they all concentrated on making it move. He growled and sat back down in his seat.

"Well, if you 'just know' then go find out where she is on your own." The truth was that John didn't know where she was at all. Most of the time she found him, according to Pietro and Bella she did have a habit of popping up out of no where. It was true. He had heard the jet land in the basketball court so she had to be _somewhere_ in the Mansion. How she knew these three weirdos, John didn't want to know. Just a couple of minutes a girl with pink hair and wings asked him the same thing. It must've been quite the adventure.

"Fine..." "...be a...." "...meanie."

"Get used to it." John smiled coyly and finished off his burger. It was weird watching how the sisters acted. It was like something out of a Sci-Fi movie, how they all reacted the same, how they finished each other's sentences. Even down to the way they breathed and blinked, to how they fixed their hair when it fell on their face. _Creepy_.

Still intrigued, John watched as the girls got up from their seats, but soon sat back down a smile on their faces. Confused, he looked in the direction they were gazing but soon his vision was blocked and all he saw was black. A pair of soft hands covered his eyes and brought his head back. He smirked as he tapped the mystery person's hands. He already knew who it was. "I'm not _that_ stupid." He murmured.

"Could've...." "...fooled...." "...us.." John heard the Cuckoos speak but he decided to ignore them. He grabbed the pair of hands and pulled them from his face. He shot a look at the Cuckoos and they all giggled.

"Be nice." Alyce spoke, tiredly. She really meant it for both the Cuckoos _and_ John but she knew neither of them would listen. She leaned her chin on John's head, her eyes drooping.

"Where do you find these weirdos?" John asked. "First it was this pink haired faerie and now these...._clones._"

Alyce chuckled and sat next to John, she let out a yawn and leaned on his shoulder. "She isn't a faerie, she's a pixie."

"Same shit."

There was an eerie silence at the table. Alyce looked up and noticed the Cuckoos were in another stare down. She laughed and patted John on his arm. She wondered if the Cuckoos knew about Emma, who was down in the infirmary. Alyce glimpsed at them once more. They just had to know. If they did then they were doing a good job at hiding it, but did they even really care what happened to Emma? Alyce was tempted to ask but she didn't know how they would react. Anger, fear, sadness, happiness?

Alyce leaned her face on John's arm and inhaled the cologne from his shirt. Ever since she had gotten back she had been sleepy as hell, even while she dodged Logan's hits. When was the last time she had a good nights sleep? She couldn't even remember. Three days? Two? But she couldn't go to sleep just yet. She needed to be there when Emma woke up. She felt as if she had a lot to ask Emma, but when she really thought about it she couldn't come up with any logical questions. Maybe she should go talk to the Professor. There had to be more of a consequence then just firing her.

John moved his shoulder, Alyce looking up and the two locking gazes. "Stop thinking so much, it's annoying. And you look like shit."

Alyce smiled. John had told her that so many times and he was usually right. She blushed and dug her face back into his arm, which caused him to chuckle. "How did you know I was thinking?" Her voice muffled.

"Because you zone out like a retard. Kinda like Bella..." The two chuckled, causing the Cuckoos to get up from their seats. They stuck out their tongues at John and turned on their heel. John decided that from here on out he would _never_ understand those three girls, nor did he even want to. "Why don't you get some rest, you look like you seriously need it."

Alyce shook her head and let out another yawn. She knew if she tried to convince him other wise, he wouldn't give in. He was stubborn, just like she was. It was a miracle the two hadn't clashed. But they did do good at convincing each other when it came to..._other_ things. But that wasn't the point.

"I just need one more thing to do and I'm done." Alyce playfully bit on John's shirt and smiled. He gave her a dirty look and she sighed. "Seriously?" She asked, in regards to his mean look.

"You're supposed to be my side kick in crime. Hurry up and finish this shit already." While he did sound mean, Alyce knew John meant that in the nicest way possible. To anyone overhearing their conversation, she was sure to them it sounded like an abusive relationship. The thought of it made Alyce chuckle.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"You ever think that if people hear us talk, it might sound like you're an overprotective abusive boyfr--"

"No, shut up." John interrupted with a firm tone. Just where did Alyce come up with this type of shit?

"Exactly!" Alyce laughed as she pulled away from John's arm as he reached out to nudge her. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her in close. "Don't be so mad, we both know I can beat your ass in under a minute..." Alyce mocked. John smirked and gave Alyce his best glare.

"Know your place. Remember I'm Batman, you're Robin. I'd school you any day of the week."

Alyce gave John a bland look. "You're kidding me...is that a challenge?" She asked quietly as John placed a kiss on her lips. She returned the kiss sleepily and let her forehead rest on his.

"It _so_ is."


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**: Wake Her Up!

Jean was having second thoughts about what she was going to do. Was it really worth it to dive into Emma's mind? Or should she just wait until the woman woke up? Quietly, Jean walked into the infirmary, she took a final look around before locking the door. Pulling back the hair from her face into ponytail, Jean walked to were Emma lay. She opened the glass door slowly and stepped inside, securing the lock on the door. She leaned on the glass wall and looked at Emma. The bruises on her face were healing up and the big welt that was on her brow had settled. Her breathing was normal but her eyes moved behind her eye lids. She was dreaming.

Jean glanced around the room once more before she took her place behind Emma. She pulled up a chair and sat down, lowering the bed to her level. She suddenly felt cold. Jean rubbed her bare arms and wished she had wore a long sleeved shirt.. _"I'm going to do this..."_ Jean told herself. She had let Emma get away with her share of things and now Jean was going to stop it. Rubbing her palms with her fingers, Jean placed her hands on either side of Emma's head. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes.

*

Alyce was wondering if John let her win on purpose. He must've, because right now she was sitting on top of his back, marveling at the setting sun, and he wasn't complaining. Alyce placed her hands on the grass and steadied herself, she lifted up the bottom half of her body and John crawled out. He rolled over on his back and looked over to Alyce.

"You let me win?" Alyce asked him, smiling. She pulled out a blade of grass from the lawn and stuck the tip in her mouth. She looked back up into the coloured sky, pinks and blues scattered as the sun set. A soft breeze flew by them and the smell of rain filled their noses.

John yawned and reached up, grabbing the blade of grass from Alyce's mouth. "That's gross, putting something in your mouth that's been on the ground." He threw the small piece of grass somewhere and rubbed his eyes. They had rough housed for what seemed to be hours and there was no going easy. He dished out his hardest punches and she dished out her hardest kicks. John was definitely going to feel it tomorrow.

"Is it gross? It's _just_ grass..." Alyce grabbed a handful of the green grass and mushed it on John's mouth. He sputtered out in protest, grabbing Alyce's wrist and pushing her away from him. Spitting out bits of grass from his mouth, John sat up and grabbed a big handful of grass and dirt and threw it at Alyce's face. She dodged it just in time and laid back on the grass. "Horrible, horrible aim." Alyce chided.

John growled and playfully grabbed at Alyce's neck. He leaned in close to her ear. "I'll _kill_ you, seriously." He placed a small kiss on her cheek and flung himself back on he grass. "Next time I won't go so easy on you."

"There won't be a nice time. I owned you so bad today." Alyce chuckled, as she picked up her head and leaned it on John's leg. "Let's sleep outside today."

John let out a fake laugh and lifted his head up to look at Alyce with a dumb look. "Do I look like survivor man? I have a bed inside, thanks."

"We can gather nuts and make a tree house---"

"Alyce..." John interrupted. He plopped his head back down on the grass and folded his arms behind his head.

Alyce softly giggled and looked over to him. "Yea?"

"Just shut up."

The sounds of crickets began to fill the air as the sun continued to set. Half of the sky was already dark the other side filled with different soft pastel colours. Some of the clouds were a light pink and others were a bright orange. The surrounding air grew cooler and the faint sounds of birds were heard. Alyce could feel that John's breathing had gotten slower. She sat up and looked at him to find out that he had fallen asleep. Alyce was tempted to pull off a prank. Maybe the old whip crème on face, or making a loud noise so he could scream himself awake. Or....thee old hand in the water trick. Would he even pee his pants? That would be a funny sight. Alyce shook her head and laughed to herself. Doing that would be asking for John to burn her clothes.

Alyce looked over to the Mansion and noticed the lights to the cafeteria spring on as kids rushed in for their dinner. She felt her tumble grumble and she gently massaged her stomach. She was hungry, but what would she eat? Alyce stretched out her arms and leaned back down on John. He stirred for a bit but soon his gentle breathing was heard. She interlocked her fingers and laid them over her stomach and looked out to the side. What could possibly go wrong?

"Heh...don't you two look so cute."

Alyce fluttered her gaze to the other side. A man dressed in all black, glaring down at her with a feral smile on his face. He ran his tongue over his pointed teeth and scratched at his scruffy beard. Alyce didn't really think anything of it. Was he some new guy at the school? He definitely looked old enough to be a teacher. A part of him, however, did scream out _danger_.

"Cat got your tongue?" The man asked with a sneer. He shrugged and quickly lashed out, picking Alyce up by her neck, her feet not touching the floor. "So.._you're_ the one Emma spoke of..." A smile on his face as he leaned in close to Alyce and sniffed her hair. She pulled back, gripping at his arm with both hands. She could feel his claws on the back of her neck.

"Who are you?" Alyce wheezed. She glanced down to John, who was still sound asleep. Now was not the perfect time to sleep like a rock. If she knocked this mysterious man with her powers, there was a chance John could get hurt. The man jerked her and she returned her look back to him.

"I like to think that, my name, is of no importance."

"I like to think it is..." Alyce coughed. "If you're going to kill me, I'd like to know who did the deed."

The man laughed. "I like how you think. Emma played you off to be stupid."

Alyce pulled at his hands, it was getting harder to breathe. Right now, having a conversation while her feet were dangling from the floor wasn't a good idea. "Thats....nice...." Alyce struggled to speak. Suddenly, the man dropped his grip on her and she landed on the floor. She coughed and sucked up a generous amount of air.

"I like your attitude...I'll give you a fair fight."

Alyce got up to her feet and looked as the man fixed his coat and smoothed back his hair. He cracked his knuckles and looked down at John, who was _still_ sleeping. "Want me to get him out of the way?" He asked, a blood thirsty glare in his eyes.

Alyce tied back her hair and rolled up the sleeves to her shirt. "It's fine. You said you were going to play fair...you're after me and that's it. We'll only have a few minutes to duke it out, then everyone is going to get involved."

"I don't really care about _everyone_. Your name?"

"I asked you first..."

The man let out an annoyed laugh. "You're playing games now. Stop being so childish."

Alyce took a step back and clenched her fists. She was sure the two of them could go on like this for a few more minutes before either she attacked or he. "Ladies first." He sneered and Alyce gave him an angry glare. She sighed and looked back down to John. If only he could just wake up. "My name is Alyce Red..."

"Such a pretty name for such a pretty girl." He paused, as if he wasn't sure what he should say next. He gave Alyce a toothy smile. "My name is Victor Creed...."

*

*

Bella had seen everything from her bedroom window. Right now, she was running as quick as she could down the stairs to get outside and help her cousin. She didn't care if she had powers or not, she had grabbed her brush from the dresser. It was _going_ to work. What she didn't understand was how John slept right there, next to them, and didn't hear anything. Bella flew out the Mansion doors and jumped over the three steps in the front. She ran across the lawn, getting closer and closer to where Alyce was. She skidded to a halt and lifted her hand back, she jutted her arm forward and the hard wooden brush flew from her hands. It twisted in the air before it became acquainted with the man's head.

Almost immediately, both Alyce and the man turned and locked their gaze on Bella. Alyce's was more of a scared look, the man's look was more of a....._oh god_, look. Bella crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't afraid of this guy.

"Who are you?!" Bella shouted, reaching back down for her brush. A clawed hand reached out and grabbed her wrist. Bella pulled back, looking at the man with annoyance. "Get offa me, you pedophile!" Bella had some tricks up her sleeve. She looked over at Alyce, the girl still frozen in her spot. "I'll _scream _rape! Get off of me!" Bella struggled for a bit before the man let go of her wrist. She fell on her butt, she threw her brush back, but the man caught it. He looked at it with a raised eyebrow and let out laugh. He took a step forward, his face rather surprised that someone so fragile would even _try _to attack him. Bella shot a look at the sleeping Pyro, but before she could let out a scream, she watched as Alyce tackled the man to the ground. Taking this as her cue, Bella scrambled to her feet and jogged over to John. She pushed her hands on top of his chest and slapped.

"Wake up!" Bella shouted, nervously glancing to her side as Alyce tussled with the large man. Alyce had managed to get on top of him, trying to land a punch, but the man sent a boot straight into Alyce's stomach, lifting her high up into the air. "Goddammit, **John**!" Bella screamed, sending her hand across John's sleeping face. He immediately woke up, his face angry. He was ready to curse the blond out when the sound of Alyce grunting caught his attention. He shot up from where he lay and grabbed Bella by her wrist, pulling her behind him.

What the _fuck_ was going on?

He hadn't even been asleep for more than a few minutes. Now, Alyce was fighting with some big guy dressed all in black. She was always getting into some trouble...or rather the trouble got to her. John widened his eyes, still in a daze.

"Do _something_!" Bella shouted at him, slapping his back. He groaned feeling the sting of Bella's slap. Sending a flame over toward the guy would only guarantee Alyce getting hurt as well. John was stuck. Should he risk flaming the guy? He didn't even know what was going on.

Alyce was pushed down on the ground, she rolled out of the way as Victor sent his clawed hand in her direction. She jumped up to her feet and looked over to John and Bella. She saw him playing with his lighter, and she knew what he wanted to do. Distracted, Alyce was grabbed by the sides of her arms, Victor lifting her up into the air and sending a knee into her stomach. She huddled over, spit flailing out of her mouth.

"Just run!" Alyce shouted as Victor slammed her into the floor. She turned over and watched as John lit his lighter, but Bella (who seemed to have more sense in her head than John) pulled on his arm. Alyce regained her breath and got up, trying to grab onto Victor but he moved out of the way. He gave her a laugh.

"A fight can never be between two people anymore, can it?" Victor mocked, wagging his finger at John and Bella.

"Are you deaf?!" Alyce screamed. "_**RUN**_!" She tried to get up, but Victor slammed a foot on her back. She closed her eyes and hoped Bella and John were running. The sooner they did the sooner she could use her powers. She cursed out as she felt the surrounding air grow hot, thick with flames. The weight on her back was lifted and Alyce looked up. Victor had dodged the flame and was now chasing after John, Bella in front of him holding his hand. Alyce slapped her hand on the ground and a black mass engulfed the flames, stopping them immediately. She got up and began to chase after Victor. But this man was incredibly fast. Even using her tentacles to give her a boost, she couldn't reach him. Before she knew it, Victor had slammed into John, who slammed into Bella and both knocked into a tree.

Alyce punched her fist into the air, a black tentacle zooming out and grabbing Victor by his waist. She pulled him back toward her and slammed him down on the ground. She lifted her foot up and aimed it for his chest, but he caught it.

"Someone is gettingfeisty." Victor smirked looking up at Alyce and giving her a wink.

"Fuck you..." Alyce snarled as she pushed down with her boot as hard as she could, but it didn't budge. He pushed her off and she skidded back. Not waiting for Victor to get up, Alyce phased down into the ground and re appeared next to John and Bella. John shook his head, trying to clear his vision, his lip busted from where it hit against Bella's head. But at least he was still conscious. Bella who had hit face first into the tree trunk was bleeding from her forehead.

"John...take Bella and get Logan or something.." Alyce hurriedly spoke, helping John up to his feet and picking up Bella in her arms. She glanced over to Victor who was now up and walking toward the troupe. Quickly, Alyce plopped Bella into John's arms.

"I'll come back to help you." John mumbled, still trying to get the dizziness from his eyes. He bit on his bottom lip and sucked up the blood that was gushing out. He stumbled back.

"Ok...ok John." Alyce gave him a smile and picked up his lighter that had fallen to the floor. She pushed it into his pocket and watched as he staggered away with Bella. Alyce knew that as soon as he walked inside the Mansion he was going to pass out. Or maybe he wouldn't? If he did come back out to help, Alyce worried he would only get hurt. He never thought when he fought, only acted on his emotions. Which usually led his to getting hurt.

"Awwwww." Victors voice cooed. Alyce spun around, but Victor picked her up by her waist and threw her back across the lawn. A mouthful of grass and dirt, Alyce struggled to get up. She spit out what was in her mouth and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. She couldn't handle this guy on her own. She was strong, but she knew she just couldn't. Alyce rolled over on her back and formed her metallic clawed gauntlets over her hands. She clutched at the earth as she sat up and pushed her self back up on her feet.

Victor stopped mid step and crossed his arms over his chest. He watched as Alyce struggled to get up. He smirked as she stumbled a bit on her feet. "You know, Emma told me to expect a _good_ fight.....are you _even_ trying?"

Alyce stretched her back, wiping the rest of the dirty form her face. She looked at Victor with a sly look and gave him her best shit eating grin. "Are _you_?"


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Yes, Victor Creed is here. (Since last chapter, lol) Unlike the Wolverine Origins movie, he will _not_ be Logan's "half brother" or whatever they had said he was. He still has the appearance he had in Origins, but I'm sticking to the comics. He's just Logan's good 'ol arch nemesis.

**Chapter 47**: Naturals

Bella's eyes fluttered open, looking at the floor to her shoes and another pair. She brought her hand up to her head and touched the blood that was trickling down her forehead. She wiped it away and planted her feet into the ground. The arm around her waist pulled on her but she stood still. Her green eyes looked up and met John's eyes.

"What happened?" Bella murmured, a voice barely above a whisper. John leaned in close and gave her a questioning look. _What?_ Was what his face read. Bella steadied herself on his shoulders and took in a breath. Her head was aching horribly and her body felt like it had been rammed in. She cleared her throat and looked at John with stern eyes. "What happened?"

John shook his head, like he couldn't believe either what she had just asked or what was happening. He tugged on her arm, still biting on his lower lip. "I need to put you somewhere so I can go back outside and help Alyce."

"Alyce!" Bella spoke, remembering what had just happened. She went to turn on her heel, but John stopped her. He pulled once more on her arm and held onto her tightly. The two looked at each other, both not knowing what to say. John, still half dazed and Bella in another world. John blinked a few more times before letting go of Bella and wiping his lip with the bottom of his shirt.

"Call your goddamn boyfriend--" He spoke, harsh sounding yes, but it was in the best of intentions. "--the sooner you do, the sooner I can go back outside and help Alyce."

Bella gave him a scowl and began patting at her jeans for her cellphone. A troubled look plastered itself on her face and, wide eyed, looked back to John. "It's not in my pocket."

"So go find it!" John shouted, very impatient. He grabbed back at Bella's wrist and began to pull her through the Mansion. Alyce had asked him to get Logan and that's what he was going to do. Once he found him, John was going to hand over Bella and get to what he had to do. How was it that no one even knew what was happening yet? Was the Professor sleeping? John sucked his teeth as he continued to drag Bella. He always knew that bald headed-chair bound man was no good. Worthless.

The only place John could think were Logan would be, was the kitchen. Still trying to find beers that were never going to be there. It was the only place John could think of, if Logan wasn't there....they were fucked. They were a few feet away from the kitchen when the sound of shattering glass caused them to jump. Bella let out the most ungodly of shrieks, which caused John to slap his hand over her mouth. He pulled her behind him and scanned the area behind them. There was, indeed, glass all over the floor. Some of the students who had been walking around had been pushed to the floor. One girl screamed in pain, her hand bloodied up with glass. Then, that's when John caught a glimpse of the man in black. The man moved so fast, Alyce right in front of him, the two exchanging a fury of fists and kicks.

Suddenly, everything stopped. Alyce and Victor had disappeared. Bella huddled onto John's shirt, scared and crying her eyes out. Everything stood quiet, everything stood still. John took a step back, Bella following. He reached into his pocket and took out his lighter. He knew something was going to happen, and just as soon as he thought it something did. Appearing out of nowhere, stood Victor. Standing only a few feet away. He smiled and cocked his head to the side. He raised an eye brow at Bella and shrugged his shoulders.

John had _no_ idea what he was trying to say.

"The girl? Why don't you give her to me." Victor asked, cleaning out flecks of blood that had gotten underneath his long fingernails. He wiped his face and sighed, looking at John once more. The two were just standing there like a deer in headlights. Victor could _smell_ the fear coming off of them. More over the girl, who was huddled behind this lost boy. Her fear....was the most delicious thing he had smelled in years. He wanted it. He needed to have that girl.

"_You...." "...Should...." "....Duck..."_

The voices spilled into John's head. He didn't have time to argue, he knew who was talking to him. Those stupid Cuckoo's, the ones that liked to pick on him. Quickly, John turned around and hugged onto Bella, tripping her and both fell to the floor. As they did, John could feel the heat of some sort of energy pass by his face. His chin banged on the floor and he growled, more pissed off that he hadn't made a flame than from actual pain. He looked up, first checking if Bella was ok, and his eyes looked straight to a pair of boots.

"_Le Feu_ needs some help?" Remy crouched and looked at John with a smile. In his hands he shuffled a deck of cards. He scratched his head and pushed back his long brown hair. "_Mon ami_, Gambit thinks you should get up now." Remy let out an exaggerated sigh and got up, pulling John up with Bella. He peeled Bella away from John and handed her to the Cuckoo's (who weren't the least bit scared of what was going on...and had decided to stick their tongues out at John.)

Victor let out a bellowing laugh. "More coming to play?" He asked, busy dusting off glass shards that had landed on his jacket. He looked around curiously, Alyce had completely disappeared. What was she planning?

Remy returned the laugh, which caused Victor to take intrigue. "_Non, non_. No one is coming to play." Remy nodded over to John then to the Cuckoo's who were busy talking to Bella. Bella was busy trying to string her sentences together and upon seeing how lost the Cuckoo's looked, Remy decided to intervene. "If _Les Trois_ would like to know what Bella is trying to say..."

"We know." The Cuckoo's glared, Mindee closed her eyes (or so Remy thought it was Mindee; they all looked alike, could you blame him?) and for a few seconds looked as if she was sleeping. She opened her eyes back up and gave Remy a smile. "He's coming..."

Remy shrugged and looked back over to John. "Ready?" He asked. John nodded and flicked open his lighter. What was surprising to Remy, was how patient this mysterious man was. While Remy had been talking to the Cuckoo's he had plopped himself on the floor, his hands on his knees, his eyes glaring. Was he really that defiant, to actually wait. How strong was this man? It didn't matter Remy needed a good challenge. He was about to take a step forward, when a strong gust of wind pushed him back.

"You guys starting without me?"

"Can we hurry this up?" Victor asked, looking at the white haired boy that just joined the growing group. He sighed and got up from where he sat. It didn't matter how many of them stood against him, he could wipe the floor with each and every one of them. He cracked his neck and pointed toward the group.

"So, I have a pretty white haired boy, a guy who can't speak English correctly and a useless little fire fighter. How _nice._"

*

Scott had gotten to the infirmary just in time. It took him a few seconds to get the door open, but as soon as he stepped in he ran over to Jean and caught her as soon as she collapsed. He had been with her for years. Scott Summers knew when there was something wrong with his girlfriend. He smoothed out Jeans hair and gently patted her face. Through his ruby visor, he looked up toward Emma who was still asleep. His attention went back to Jean as she moaned herself awake.

"Jean...Jean? Are you alright? Speak to me." Scott cooed, hugging Jean softly. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled upon seeing Scott's face. She leaned on his arm as he helped her to sit up. She rubbed at her eyes and ran her hand over her face. A million thoughts raced through her mind and she gently rubbed her temples. All these thoughts, all these intentions, emotion were just giving her a headache.

"Scott, you have to warn the Professor, Logan as well."

"Why? What's wrong Jean?" Scott got up to his feet, helping Jean along with him. He sat her in a nearby chair, glancing back and forth between Jean and Emma. Jean looked up at him, with the most obvious annoyed look on her face.

"Go warn the Professor, tell him Victor Creed is attacking the school."

"Right now?! Right this moment?"

"Yes, Scott! Remy, Pietro and John are holding him down. The Cuckoo's are with Bella, but I don't know where Alyce is...just....just go warn the Professor. I'm going to find Logan." Jean leaned on the chair and pushed herself up. She gave Scott a quick kiss, to get him out of his daze and patted him on the chest. He nodded to her and before she knew it he was out of the room and jogging down the hallway to the Professor's office. Jean took in a deep sigh and closed her eyes. She needed to find Logan. Where would she be if she was a Wolverine?

*

*

Alyce was getting tired of being on a ceiling. Whenever some major trouble happened, she always found herself clinging to the roof of, wherever she was, and waiting for the perfect chance to strike. The last time she checked she wasn't a bird of prey. She looked down as Remy threw his charged cards at Victor, who stumbled back. He looked animal enough, could he smell Alyce waiting? If he was, indeed, hired by Emma then he knew a thing or two. Pietro, who had literally appeared out of no where, was now running circles around Victor. Now, it was time for Alyce to strike.

Letting go of the ceiling Alyce fell down toward Victor. She sucked in a gigantic breath of air before landing on his shoulders. She knew what Pietro was trying to do, she had seen him do it before. Suffocation. Alyce squeezed her legs tightly around Victor's head, he grabbed at her thighs and dug his claws into them. Alyce gritted her teeth and send a quick punch toward his head. She twisted the upper part of her body and pushed for the floor. She twisted her legs and brought them down hard, Victor's head meeting the wooden floor with a crash. She didn't loosen her grip, but slammed her hand down on the floor, a black sticky mass forming on the floor and stopping Pietro in his tracks.

"Oh...hey there, Alyce." Pietro smiled nervously. He looked down to the sticky mess over his sneakers and shot a look at Alyce. She rolled her eyes and let go of the breath she was holding. She snapped her fingers and the sticky, black substance disappeared from Pietro's sneakers. She loosened her grip on Victor's neck and held her hand out to Pietro, he pulled her up with ease. "Trouble always finds you doesn't it." Pietro asked, half joking and half serious.

"As much as Gambit loves to see you two chat...it's not time for that..." Remy twirled his bo-staff in his hands and slammed it down on Victors chest. He placed his hard boot on top also and looked down at Victor as he leaned on his staff. "Think _L'Animal_ is done?"

John walked up and they all looked down at Victor, who _seemed_ to be knocked out. John was pissed. He hadn't even gotten a hit. Remy was pretty content. He had gotten in a few hits with his trusty cards and bo-staff, he had gotten his daily dose of carnage. Pietro was....half and half. He didn't know whether to be happy or angry. He had just bought these designer sneakers three days ago. Even though the sticky goo was gone, he felt it was still on his sneakers. He knew it wasn't Alyce's fault...ok so _maybe_ it was, but it was more of Victors fault. Pietro growled and gave Victor a firm kick on the side.

Alyce, however, knew better. There was no way this massive animal of a man was down for the count. He had nearly wiped the floor with her outside _and _in. Surely a couple of charged cards, speed and a hit to the head would take him out. Alyce motioned to Remy, who was now making funny faces at Victor. He took his bo-staff off of the man's chest, and they all moved back. They stared at Victor with an unknowing glare.

"Well...he's done, dude." Pietro spoke up, shoving Victor once more with his shoe.

John crossed his arms over his chest and clicked his lighter in anger. "Yea, thanks to you. Hogging up all the action."

"Hey, why don't you just sh--"

Alyce grabbed Pietro's wrist as soon as he was about to give John a firm poke. She shook her head and motioned for everyone to take more steps back. Victor was mumbling in his phase, and his eyes were beginning to flutter open. While everyone was beginning to grow nervous, John was growing happy. If anyone gave him a proper look, his smile probably reached to both sides of his face. Everyone took more steps back, Victor letting out a blood boiler of a howl. While everyone was stepping back for their own safety, John was not. He looked up over to Alyce as he lit his lighter and she gave him a tired look.

"_You're just dying to have fun...aren't you_." Her face read.

"_You know me well_." John smiled and transferred the small flame to his hand. He was about ready to send his flame at Victor when something flew in front of him. He stumbled back, his flame spiraling out of his hand and toward Victor......_and_ Logan.

Logan ignored the agonizing pain of the flames on his arm and sunk his claws under Victor's rib cage. The flames spilled out over his back, causing Logan to grit his teeth. The flames reach the side of Victor's arm, quickly he brought up his clawed hands and dug them deep into Logan's side.

"Long time no see." Victor croaks, still managing to put a smile on his face. For the first time in his life, Victor was thankful he had a healing factor, not to mention his Adamantium fused skeleton. Almost the same as Logan, if not better. Or worse?

"What are you talking about?" Snarling, Logan pushes his claws deeper into Victor's body but as he does, Victor's does the same. Waiting for Victor's answer, Logan's spits out a glob of salty blood from his mouth. The flames begin to die down and the muscle and skin on Logan's arms and back being to heal. He winces as his cheek twitches, the skin twisting and forming back together. "You _don't_ know me...." Logan snarls.

Victor lets out a laugh, clutching at the inside of Logan's body. "On the contrary, but I do...."

"From where?"

Victor rolled his eyes in annoyance. Picking up his knee toward his chest he lifts Logan up off of him and throws him aside. He hadn't remembered the last time someone had pierced his skin, the adrenaline in his body picking up. "Stryker really did fuck you up, didn't he. If you can't remember me..." A bit of Victor felt betrayed. Here he was, standing in front of the man who had been his main enemy for years on end. He hated everything this 'Wolverine' stood for. Victor embraced his animalistic qualities, while Logan only tried to suppress them. He clenched his fists in anger as Logan got up from where he was thrown. They both had the same healing factor, the same animal senses (if Victors were not better), the same Adamantium skeleton. But Victor _had_ to be better than him.

"Listen, Bub---"

"I think it's you that should be listening...." Victor interrupted. He was starting to see red, and this time whoever got in his way he was going to kill them. Screw what Emma Frost had told him. He was no longer interested in this Alyce girl or her stupid blond headed cousin. Right now, right this moment all he wanted to do was _kill_ Logan.

"In fact...no more talk...." Victor growled.

Logan rolled his shoulders and rested his arms. He clenched his fists, his sharp claws waiting to sink back into Victor. "That's more like it..."


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**: This Time

Pietro knew Logan had everything covered. He watched in awe as Logan lifted up Victor, with his claws still inside of Victor's stomach, and threw him across the hall. The two thrashed at each like there was no tomorrow, the rage in their eyes practically glowing. Pietro took a step back as Victor was thrown past him. He pulled Bella to his chest, as Logan followed Victor down the hall. Remy, John, Alyce, Bella and him had just been marveling at how the two fought. It was something else to see Logan in the training room and, then, see him fighting right in front of your eyes. Fighting seriously.

"You done zoning out?" Pietro cooed into Bella's ear, hugging her close and rocking her side to side. She gently pulled away from his chest and looked at him with a smile. He chuckled softly and used the bottom of his shirt to wipe away the blood from her forehead.

"Hey, you two done?" John growled, watching as the two kissed. He didn't like the idea of standing around while Logan fought. Sure, it was interesting but it wasn't on his agenda to get any more blood splatters on his clothes.

Alyce, who was still paying attention to Logan and Victor, pulled Remy toward her as Logan came flying back toward them. They were just standing there like idiots. They needed to do something. "We need to get everyone cleared out of the Mansion, at this rate they're going to bring it down."

"Remy thinks that is an awesome idea!" Remy wrapped his arm over Alyce's shoulder and held her close. "Remy should pair up with Alyce..._le feu _should go back to his room." Despite the situation they were in, Alyce still in pain from getting thrown around, she had to laugh. She knew Remy was doing this on purpose and John was taking it seriously.

She looked over to Pietro, who nodded. He would go with Bella, drop her off at the infirmary and zoom about saving people. Alyce knew if we went with John there would be another fight to worry about. Alyce sighed and patted Remy on his chest. The Cajun gave her a fake sad whimper before taking his leave with Pietro.

"I'm gunna kill that Cajun one day." John angrily spoke. Alyce rolled her eyes and gave John a small hug, the two phasing into a black vortex underneath them.

*

*

"Please, just stay with me." Bella whimpered, holding onto Pietro with all her might. She buried her face on his chest and let out a small sob. She missed him so much, she was hurt, she was tired, all she wanted him to do was just stay with her. She didn't want to be in the infirmary while Emma was still in it.

"Bellz---" Pietro whispered, pulling her off of him and sitting her down on a nearby chair. He lifted up her chin with his finger and placed a small kiss on her lips. "--I'll be back faster than you can think." He knelt down and rubbed her shoulders with his hands. She wiped at her nose with the back of her hand and sniffled.

"_Please_?" She asked once more, wrapping her arms around his neck. Pietro sighed and patted Bella's back. He shot a look over to Remy, who was busy looking at his playing cards and leaning on his bo-staff. Bella pushed herself off of her chair and on top of Pietro's lap. Why was she so scared? Pietro glanced back at Remy and the Cajun gave him a salute.

"Looks like Remy is on his own." He pushed his cards into his jacket and kicked up his bo-staff and caught it.

"I'll catch up to you sooner or later." Pietro added. He shrugged in Remy's direction and the Cajun rolled his eyes.

"_Mon ami_, you should take a look at whose in the room. It's why _le petite _is so scared."

Pietro furrowed his brow in confusion. What was Remy even talking about? He turned his attention back to Bella as Remy walked out of the infirmary. Pietro looked around, rocking Bella back and forth, when his eyes fell upon a white cape littered on the floor. He followed it, and his eyes brought him to Emma Frost. She was hooked up to numerous machines and her usual all white uniform was dirty and blood stained.

"_You so deserved it_." Pietro thought, laughing in his mind. Bella had told him her share of things about this woman. But, now, just by looking at her when she was up and about, he could tell she was up to no good. He looked down to Bella and chuckled. "You're really scared of that woman?" He asked nicely.

Bella wiped the tears from her face and bit her bottom lip. Her cheeks flushed a bright red and she looked away from her boyfriend. "Don't make fun of me..." She said in a low voice.

"I'm not." Pietro chuckled. He really wasn't. He just couldn't believe that Bella was scared of Emma. He had never seen her be afraid of anyone. He picked her up and placed her back on the chair and brushed the hair out of her face. "Bella, you shouldn't be scared of that white witch. She can't do anything to you. Not now." He enveloped Bella into a big hug, trying to make her feel better. He really did want to laugh, she was being so silly.

"I would take you with me, but you need that gash in your head sewn shut." It had stopped bleeding, but every time Bella would dig her face into his shirt it would start gushing out again. "Just sit tight Bella, it will only take a few seconds to clear the halls. I'll come back before you can take another breath."

"Really?" Bella croaked, wiping away the blood from her forehead. She looked at her boyfriend with a hopeful gleam in her eye and smiled.

"I'm not called _Quick_Silver for nothing."


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**: Out of Sight

Surprisingly enough, Alyce and John didn't have to do so much work. Every door they opened, there was no one to be found. The halls stood eerily quiet, except for the occasional roars coming from either Logan or Victor. Alyce opened up another door as John did the same. She jumped, startled, the floor beneath her rumbling. Another loud bang was heard and a small crack formed on the floor. Alyce clunked her boot on the floor and a squiggly tentacle slithered out and patched up the crack. Whoever's room this was had tons of family pictures and posters up. If it was Alyce, she wouldn't want to come back to a trashed room.

"There's no one up here. We just waisted our time." John spoke, feeling irritated. He hadn't gotten his hand in action yet. John liked burning things. All he wanted was to burn just one thing, just _one_ thing and get away with it. That was all. Him lighting Logan and Victor on fire didn't count. He had slipped, Logan had pushed him.

"We didn't waste our time, for all we knew there could've been some scared kids up here." Alyce closed the door to the room and looked over at John. "It's scary hearing those two fight."

John checked another room, slamming the door shut when he found out no one was in there. "Who do you think warned everyone?" He asked. He didn't _really _care, maybe a teeny bit but nothing major. He had no reason to care about any one else in this Mansion. Sure, Alyce but she could take care of herself. Bella, because she was a human. He didn't owe anything to any of these other spoiled brats.

"No idea, maybe Remy told something to Rogue. Or Kitty. I haven't them in a while." Alyce motioned to John and the two made their way to the other side of the dorms. Alyce jogged up to the massive door and opened it, another row of never ending doors greeting them.

"Rogue's been with Remy, Kitty with Avalanche. Is it that hard to figure out?" John closed the door before Alyce could step in, causing her to give him a glare.

"What are you doing? We have to go check the rest of the dorms."

John rolled his eyes. "If the last dorm was empty do you _really_ think this one is full?" He gave Alyce a stupid look and turned to go down the stairs. "Before you say it's me being lazy, it's not. It's called logical reasoning."

"Bu--"

"Alyce." John turned around and leaned on the staircase. "What have those kids _ever_ done for you? _Nothing_. They all used to hate you when you first got here, why should you have to save them?"

"It doesn't matter how they used to treat me. If I held that against them 'till now that would be pretty stupid, John." A sudden bang vibrated through the floor, sending Alyce to her knees. Another bang, signaling the breaking of the floor beneath Alyce. One more, and the floor caved in, John running toward where Alyce stood. He extended his arm and tried to catch her hand in his, but she had went down quicker than he expected. He fell to his knees, another shock wave and Victor being thrown into the ceiling by Logan. Victor fell back to the floor, landing next to John.

As quick as he could, John kicked off the floor. Had Alyce already fallen? He was almost close to the caved in part of the floor when a clawed hand dug into his calf. John groaned out in pain and looked behind him, careful not to move his leg. Victor pulled him down a few steps, the ripping pain causing John to gasp for breath. John locked eyes with the smiling man and contemplated on moving his leg.

"Why don't you come hang out?" Victor chuckled, pulling John down a few more steps. His claws sunk in deeper and John gritted his teeth. He looked back over to the caved in hole, a hand coming up. Alyce pushed herself up, she had gotten half of her body steadied when Victor slammed his free fist onto the ground. Another rumble was heard and Alyce lost her grip. John reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out his lighter. He quickly lit it, he really needed to talk to the Professor about another way of him having fire. There wasn't enough time to forever be flicking a lighter open.

Once John got the flame in his hand, he pushed his lighter back in his pocket. He turned around, ignoring the ripping pain in his leg. Coming towards them, practically seeing red (with all the blood on his face) was Logan. Gripping on John's leg was Victor. Why was John always getting into the tough spots? He had to flame one of them, Logan didn't look so friendly any more. John looked down to Victor with a smile. He snapped his fingers and soon his flame rushed out and blanketed Victor.

John sighed out in relief as Victor's claws left his leg, and he now struggled his way back to the top of the steps. He watched in mock horror as Logan threw himself at Victor, completely disregarding the flames. He pulled himself up the last step, taking a short break before crawling to the massive hole. He peered down, careful not to tip over. No Alyce. He groaned once more, pushing his leg up and trying to sit up. He could feel the blood collecting in his jeans and spilling out into his socks and over his sneakers. Managing to lay on his side, John propped himself up on his elbows. He sat up and looked down the stair case, Victor and Logan, _on fire_, fighting.

John had now seen everything there was to see in life.

"Jo—holy_ shit_." Alyce, who had appeared out of no where, rushed to John's side. She threw herself on her knees and awkwardly hovered her hands over John's leg. She had no idea what to do. Sure she could make things, but there was so much blood. Nervously, Alyce looked John, who gave her a bored look.

"It's nothing..." He grunted, trying to sound manly. "Just needs some ice."

Alyce pointed to his jeans, indicating if she would lift up the material from his leg. He nodded and Alyce helped him sit up properly. She grabbed the end of John's pants and began to carefully fold it over, blood had already soaked right through it and was now getting on her hands. She folded the pants up to his knee and carefully picked up his leg. He winced and bit his lip, but stood shut as Alyce carefully tilted his leg.

"John this is _bad_. I--"

"Alyce, just dish from water over it, I'll be fine." He gave her a reassuring look, give her a small smile. It felt strange reassuring Alyce. She was always ready for anything, and to see her, the way she looked now, was just heartbreaking. She _really_ looked scared. He patted her arm, the girl had spaced out.

"Water..." He spoke slowly, motioning with his hand over his leg. She nodded and stuck her hand in the floor, she pulled out a large bottle of icy cold water. She balanced his leg on her knee and opened the bottle of water, taking his leg up in her hand once more.

"It's cold..." She told him, so he wouldn't jump when the icy liquid touched his hot skin. He rolled his eyes and threw his head back, impatient. He felt weak sitting here. John didn't need anyone seeing him like this. He flinched as Alyce poured the cold water over leg. The cooling sensation felt relaxing and he found himself sighing out a breath. Alyce formed a small towel and wiped his leg clean. She then placed her hand back into the floor and pulled out a fluffy white bandage. She tried her best to not look at the wound, Victor had practically ripped the skin off of his leg, five deep holes from where he dug into his leg. Alyce tightly bandaged John's leg and clipped it in place. She rolled his pants back down and patted his left softly.

"You know...these were my _favourite_ jeans."

*

*

Jean didn't find this appropriate in the least bit. What was wrong with her just running to where she needed to go? Nothing, right? According to Hank 'now was not the time to be running'. Jean felt like she was a roller coaster, her grip on Hank's neck going tighter. He coughed and grumbled and Jean loosened her grip. Wasn't her fault he had decided to do this.

Hank McCoy was giving the, one and only, Jean Grey a piggy back ride.

Hank wasn't worried about how 'inappropriate' Jean said it was. The fact was that, it was getting them to their destination quicker. Hank could easily out run Jean, he was doing her a favour. The faster they got to where Logan was fighting with Victor, the quicker they could stop it. Hank ran along the wall, causing Jean to plaster her face on his furry blue back. He jumped out into the clearing and skidded to a stop. He looked over to Alyce and John. A _very_ bloody John. Hank tapped Jeans arm and she dropped her hold on him. He steadied her before walking over to the pair.

"You two don't look so good." Hank spoke, crouching down and looking at John's leg. He went to go touch it when John flinched away.

"I'm fine." The Pyro growled. Hank rolled his eyes and looked over to Alyce, who calmly shook her head from side to side. Hank shrugged and without warning lifted up John and put him on his back.

"What the _fuck_--" John yelled. "--this is _so_ violating!"

Hank gave the boy a firm shake, and John instantly shut up. Hank didn't mean to put the boy in pain, but if it got him to shut up and let him take care of his wound then it was fine. Alyce gave Hank a small smile and the Beast returned it, he nodded over to Jean; who was still in a daze. _I think you might need to steady her_. Hank's happy blue face spoke. It was rather odd how calm Hank was able to stay in a situation, but Alyce was thankful for it. She needed someone else to be calm so she could take a breather. Alyce nodded and winked at John, before Beast flew off down the hall.

Alyce got up and made her way toward the Jean. "Alright?" Alyce asked, wiping her bloodied hands on her pants. She rubbed her hands together, water forming and sloshing over. She whipped her hands at the air, getting the water off of them and put a hand on Jean's shoulder.

"I'm fine, thanks. Log--"

"Logan and Victor are on fire. They rolled down the stairs, all you need to do is follow the flames."

Jean was ready to walk down the step when Alyce stopped her. "Emma hired Victor." Alyce told Jean, who seemed confuse. "He told me when he attacked me.....just thought I'd let you know." Alyce let her grip fall from Jean's arm.

"Are you up for another round?" Jean asked, looking about the stairs for any signs of Scott. He was supposed to be coming around from where she was. Did he caught up in Logan and Victors quarrel?

"Another round of?"

"I don't know where Scott is. All I need you to do is distract Victor while I try to calm down Logan." Jean shot Alyce a hurried look, she wanted to find Scott and make sure he was ok. If he got involved with Logan's fight, she knew Scott was going to get seriously hurt. She looked back at Alyce, waiting for her answer. If she didn't then Jean needed to hurry up and find Scott and get to Logan, if Alyce agreed, then things would be _much_ easier.

Alyce cracked her knuckles. This could be the perfect opportunity to get some revenge. Revenge for Bella _and_ John. She was sure John wouldn't like the idea of her doing that for him, so she would keep that part a secret. She gave Jean a firm nod and the two jogged down the steps, avoiding the small flames that were still burning.

"One hell of a day, huh." Jean spoke, as the two ran down the hall toward the sounds of Logan roaring. The pair skidded to a halt when the two fighting men were in their field of vision. Jean nodded to Alyce and the two got ready to do their parts.

Alyce glanced over to Jean and formed her trusty clawed armour on her hands. "_Definitely_, one hell of a day."


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**: Psycho Killer

"....and _that_ is how you can kill someone with a toothbrush!" Charlie smiled with an evil look. She kicked up her feet over the table and reclined in her chair. She interlocked her fingers and rested them on her stomach, looking at the kids who sat around the room. She chuckled with content as some of the kids began to gag, one of them even throwing up due to Charlie's explicit story telling. These kids had to learn one way or the other of the outside world. She was just trying to help. She was ready to share another story when Ray put a hand on her shoulder.

The two were locked in one of the rooms in the lower level of the Mansion with nearly thirty kids with them. The Professor had asked them to get the kids into the one of the safe rooms. Charlie was _really_ going to say no. She wanted to go back on her vacation with Ray. Besides, all those little kids looked like snot-nosed brats. Ray and her weren't here to baby sit, and she wasn't planning to do it in the future, either. But, Logan had shot her a look and once she heard it was Victor attacking the Mansion, she complied. She'd rather be out there, helping Logan or at least blasting something to smithereens but Charlie knew Victor had a personal vendetta against Logan. She bit her lip, wondering how Logan was fighting the good fight.

"I don't think the kids need to know any more special tactics." Ray whispered to Charlie. He squeezed her shoulder and she leaned her head back on the chair. She looked up to Ray and rolled her eyes.

"Ain't nothin' wrong. They need ta' grow some _huevos._"

Ray chuckled and playfully ruffled Charlie's hair. She shook her head and sat back up in her feet with a huff. They had been in this room for what seemed to be forever and Charlie was getting sick of it. What was the worse that could happen if Ray and her just left them in here. It's not like Victor would come down here looking for some snot nosed kid to kill. Logan, in his most enraged state of mind, wouldn't hurt a kid.

Every time Charlie would move, the kids would grow silent and watch her with a scared eye. Was she _really_ that scary? She didn't dress scary or have red eyes. Ray looked like a doll. Ok, so _maybe_ the guns slinged on to her hips were a bit intimidating. _Ugh_. Charlie leaned back in her chair and took out one of her guns, she began to clean it. She paused, looking at one of the students. She slowly brought the gun up to cover half her face. The student shivered, slowly backing away into one of the corners. Charlie was trying her best to hold back her laugh, she shot up from her chair and the kid let out a shriek.

Ray pinched the bridge of his nose as Charlie went into a fit of laughter. She turned her laughter into something out of a scary movie and a few of the kids began to beat on the door. As much as Ray wanted to be serious, he couldn't help but burst out in laughter as Charlie climbed onto of her chair and continued to laugh maniacally. He knew she was joking around, but the looks on these kids faces were priceless.

*

*

Scott Summers was being a prick.

Alyce could now see why her father and Logan _really_ hated the man. Right now, he was treating Alyce like a little baby, like she couldn't do anything for herself. If anything pissed her off the most it was someone undermining her. Alyce suddenly wished her father were hear to knock Scott a good one. Alyce tried to take another step forward, Victor right in her line of sight. But he held out his arm and pushed her back. He wasn't even letting Jean get in on the action, all he wanted to do was fire off his stupid red eye beams. Alyce looked over to Jean, knowing full well that the red head knew what she was thinking.

"_Bum-rush?"_ Jean asked inside Alyce's head. Alyce gave Jean a funny look, could she really be serious? Tackling the one and only Scott Summers and pinning him down? Seeing that Jean, was indeed, not joking Alyce nodded her head. The two of them took a small step back and Jean swiped her hand in the air, Scott tripping to the floor. Alyce chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest. A black tentacle slithered over Scott's back.

"We can't leave him here. Sorry, honey." Jean patted his head and gave him a quick kiss as Alyce lifted him up from the floor with her powers. A familiar black mass formed on the floor and Alyce let go of Scott and he plopped into it, the other side leading to his room. Once he was gone, Jean patted Alyce's shoulder. "Ready?" She asked, watching as Logan flung Victor into a marble statue.

Alyce nodded. "I can pin them to the walls, but I don't know for how long."

"Just form something to hold them against the wall."

Alyce shook her head. "Don't you see these two guys? They'd break right through any barrier. I can hold them for _five_ minutes. After that, it'll be hard to keep them still."

Jean nodded and waited for the perfect moment to start running toward the two. "How long before your hold gives?" Jean asked getting ready to sprint down the hall. Alyce bit her lip, thinking. She crouched down on the floor and positioned herself. She had found out that crouching while using her powers felt more comfortable. She hadn't yet control how hard her tentacles could hit, and when she stood up she had found herself stumbling. Alyce shrugged and looked up at Jean. "You have about three seconds to jump back from them if you don't manage to get Logan. If you do, I'll worry about Creed."

Jean nodded. She gave Alyce a thumbs up and began to run down the hall. She was scared to run into these two fighting, but she had enough confidence with Alyce. She knew the girl would pull, Jean knew Alyce wouldn't let her get hurt. Out of reaction, Jean squeezed her eyes shut as she got close to the pair. She felt a gust of wind fly past her and the cold slithery feeling of something touching her arm. She skidded to a halt and opened her eyes. Jean looked to her right, Logan plastered to a wall, his arms pinned at his sides. Without thinking, Jean shot out her hand and slapped it on Logan's head.

Alyce watched, hoping Jean wouldn't fail. Logan thrashed around madly, the guy obviously not in his own state of mind anymore. She looked over to Victor, who was staring at her with a grin on his face. He winked at her and blew her a kiss. Shuddering, Alyce formed another tentacle and slapped it across Victors' face...._hard. _The smile from his face slapped (literally) off in an instant and he glared at Alyce. She glanced over to Jean, Logan going limp.

Alyce released her hold on him and Jean caught him in her arms. His claws slowly retracting back into his skin. Jean gently ran her hand over his face, and Alyce could see the tears forming in her eyes. Alyce placed her hand on the floor, black goop squiggling toward Jean and Logan and settling under them. Jean looked at her and nodded, and Alyce phased them to the Infirmary. The goop slithered back toward Alyce and attached itself to her right arm. It solidified into rock hard armour, and with her grip still on Victor she got up from where she crouched.

"Gunna let me out, sweet cheeks?" Victor asked as Alyce approached him, his voice more darker. It was easier to concentrate on holding up one person and Alyce forced more pressure onto his body. He neither groaned or winced in pain. Alyce cracked her knuckles as she now stood face to face with him. She just needed to deal with him a bit more before more help arrived. If she was lucky, maybe Charlie would be the one to help.

"Yea, I'm going to let you out, _sweet cheeks_." Alyce spoke with annoyance in her voice. She knew how he fought now, she could survive more than a minutes with this guy now. She _had_ to.

It was back to the beginning now. Back to round one.

Alyce VS Victor.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**: Harsh Climates

As Alyce ran she was noticing that her body could, indeed, reach it's limit. She was trying to lead Victor out of the Mansion but she could feel her legs cramping and her breathing grew rapid. She had glanced back a few times, Victor practically on her heels and even grabbing her legs a few times. As Victor sunk his claws into her leg, Alyce realized this man could go on for hours, perhaps even days, before he eventually got tired.

Victor pulled on Alyce's leg and she tripped onto the floor. He laughed as Alyce kicked with her other leg, struggling to crawl ahead. Besides fighting Logan, this had to be the most entertaining fight he ever fought. This girl would not give up. He let go of her leg and she scrambled up, continuing to run. She jumped onto a wall, phasing her body halfway through. She looked at him with her bright blue eyes and waved.

"Just standing there?" She called out to him. Victor found this funny. He could tell she was trying her hardest to cover how much pain she was in. She formed a spike in her hand and threw it in Victor's direction. He rolled his eyes and caught it in mid air, and started to jog toward her as she disappeared through the wall. Victor picked up speed, readying himself to crash into the wall and grab at Alyce with all his might. He was going to snap her little neck and rip her head off. His shoulder cracked through the wall and he stumbled out in the dark night.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Victor sneered, sniffing at the air. Her scent had completely disappeared. He looked down at the floor, blood spatters going down the steps, but when he reached the grass there was no blood. Victor knelt down and ran his hand over the grass, trying to find any traces of blood, but there was absolutely none to be found. "Come to Daddy." Victor called out, standing up and looking around.

"I don't think you're her Daddy..." Came a sudden voice. Victor spun around, his claws ready to swipe. But before his claws even met skin, he received a hard, bone shattering punch to the face. He hadn't even stumbled back when a pair of tiny black hands wrapped around his shoulders and slammed him into the ground. Victor groaned in pain as he felt his jaw being healed back up by his powers. He had gotten his bones broken many a time, but the twisting feeling when they started to mesh back together was never comfortable.

"Hey, hey. Check this out!" Came a small childlike voice. A cold, clammy hand pulled on Victor's ear. He struggled to get up, the little hands holding him down seemed to be more stronger than he thought. What the _fuck _ was going on? Victor looked toward the small voice, a pair of big glowing green eyes met his. "This guy has _pointed_ ears!" Suddenly, the green glowing eyes were paired with a big, sharp, toothy smile, and more. All around him, Victor was surrounded by....._demons_.

"Leave the poor guy alone." Victor's ears perked up as he heard the same voice from when he got punched. He looked up, and marveled at what he saw. A man, with shoulder length hair, glowing eyes, his entire face and body covered with a sort of metallic like suit. Clawed hands, something similar to what that girl, Alyce, had used. "I'm sure he didn't _ask_ to have pointed ears..." The mysterious man shrugged and grabbed Victor by his collar, bringing him face to face. "Did you?" The man growled.

"Hey! C'mon. We want to have some fun too!" One of the little demons chuckled grabbing at Victor's leg. Why was he scared? Looking into this man's eyes, Victor had felt a surge of fear. Something he never felt before. He had never, in his entire life, been so scared of something. Scared of _anything._

"Shut up." The man spoke, to the little demons. He seemed annoyed, like he had dealt with these little monsters on numerous occasions. One of them hopped onto the man's shoulder, a baseball cap worn backwards on it's green head. "I was asking this man a question." The man told the little demon, matter-o-factly. The little demon rolled his eyes.

"Dad, you're scaring the guy. I thought you wanted a fight?"

Victor looked to the side, his eyes spotting Alyce. The demon with the baseball cap jumped into her arms and she gave him a hug, carrying him on her hip. Wait...this was Alyce's _father_? Jesus Christ. James dropped Victor to the floor and shrugged at his daughter. The rest of the demons, varying in all shapes and sizes ran to Alyce and began to latch onto her.

"Those little guys missed you. Your mother told me what was happening, thought I might stop by." James looked down to Victor, he crouched down to his level. His mask pulled back and Victor got a full view of the man's face. You could tell both, Alyce and James, were related.

"You were such a bad ass a few minutes ago." James sighed and patted Victor's shoulder. It had been a while since James had really used his powers for something like this. It was good to know he still had it. He could still put so much fear into someone's mind, he could still make his trusty little companions (who, after making them a few times, seemed to develop their own personality). He could still make a grown man cry. Which was what Victor was doing.

"Alyce...you get to have all the fun." James spoke, still looking at Victor. A power that he had, that Alyce lacked was the ability to create fear. Sure, there was more than creating it. The person who experienced it was rendered to such a state of mind they didn't know what to do with themselves. James looked at Victor with a sad look. He didn't even know what Victor was seeing, but it had to be something big if the man wasn't even blinking.

"I think you went a bit to harsh on him." Alyce walked near her father and looked at Victor. She didn't feel sorry for him in the least bit. She had never seen the extent of what her father's powers could do, only heard stories from him. Seeing and hearing were definitely two different things. The little demon she carried in her arms, scrambled up and sat on her shoulder. It fixed it's baseball cap and let out a yawn.

"Your father is a _big_ meanie." It hissed and stuck it's purple tongue at Alyce's father. "He kept us all tucked away for _years_." Alyce chuckled and watched as her father morphed back into his regular clothes. These little guys acted more like children, but when they had to help her father they were the most vicious little things you would ever set your eyes on. A tall, lanky one made it's way toward Alyce, a pair of headphones over it's ears and rap music blaring.

"Yo' father is such a bas---"

"For the love of _God_, just shut up." James growled. "Be thankful I let you guys have some fun."

"Barely any!" The one on Alyce's shoulder chirped and she hushed him. She motioned for the others to be quiet and she moved out of her Dad's way as he crouched down near Victor again. She tickled the little demon in her arms and it laughed. She took a seat on one of the big demons (who didn't mind in the least bit) and watched with curiosity as her father looked at Victor. What was he doing?

If Alyce could go inside and play with her little friends, she so would. But her father's powers were only able to be used in complete darkness. If she went into the light, the little guys would melt. Hurting them was the last thing she would ever think of. She had grown up with most of them ever since she was a little baby. The one with the baseball cap used to play Barbie dolls with her when she was only three years old. He looked small, but he was actually way older than she could ever fathom.

"Curious?" The demon whispered into Alyce's ear. She nodded and it chuckled quietly. "We've seen your father do this so many times before you were born. He really changed up his act when you were born...how cute.." Alyce jerked her shoulder and the demon sighed. Sure they were cute, to her, but they did have a problem of getting of track. "...anyway, to sum it up, he's just making the guy scared shitless. In a few seconds, he's probably going to run away crying into the woods."

All the demons chuckled watching, as predicted, Victor got up and proceeded to run into the night. Alyce got up from were she sat, a big laugh sounding from her. That had to be the most funniest sight she had ever seen. Anything to see the big bad Victor Creed run away like a little girl. _Anything._ Her father walked up to her and the two high fived.

"_¡Caramba !_ Did I just miss the action?!" Charlie ran out onto the lawn, stopping for a quick second to survey the scene. There was Alyce. There was her father. There were also, about six to eight _demons_...fucking _demons_. Charlie raised an eyebrow and walked up to one of them. With a mock curiosity, she poked it. "Holy shit....it's _real._"

"No shit, sista'." It spoke and poked her right back. "It's _real_..." It mocked, saying it exactly in her voice. The other demons laughed, but quickly stopped when Charlie sent her boot right into it's face, sending it flying to the high heavens.

"You'll have to excuse him..." James laughed nervously, scratching his head as he watched his little buddy fall back to earth. "He's the shit talker of the group."

Charlie sighed and stuck her gun back into it's holster. She really wanted to blow a few holes into Victor after she had seen what he had done to Logan. But at least he had been taken care of, which was what really mattered. Charlie looked at James. "Why 'ya keep him around then?" She asked, looking at another one with a mock interest. She had seen a lot in her life, but nothing ever like _this. _

"They help out at times..." James answered. "My name is James Red, I'm Alyce's father." He introduced himself. Charlie nodded toward him as Alyce placed the demon she was holding into Charlie's arms. She laughed as the little demon scrambled up on her shoulder and began to play with her hair. "Call me Charlie."

The one Charlie had kicked came wobbling back to the group. "You....you....little....._bitch_." It spoke, holding onto it's head and dizzily trying to walk toward her. It pointed a finger at her. "I'm...gunna....gunna..." It plopped onto the floor, unable to finish it's sentence, dazed out.

Charlie laughed and watched as Alyce lifted the poor thing into her arms. She strung it over her shoulder. Charlie was feeling a bit bad now, but it was still funny. At least in the future she knew she could take on demons. She plopped the little demon on the floor and it ran over to Alyce. She could officially say to the people she knew, that she had seen demons. And they weren't so scary as they all seemed to be. Charlie fixed her hair and pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"I need my goddamn vacation."


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**: Butterfly Elude

Hank had told Bella not to pick at her stitches. But they itched _so_ bad. She took the cool towel that Hank had given her and placed it carefully over her stitches. He had reassured her that the scar wouldn't be visible, and she was thankful for that. Bella didn't want to to worry about how she was going to do her hair to cover up the scar. After Pietro had left, John had came into the Infirmary with Hank. When Pietro came back, Jean had phased from the wall with Logan. It had gotten more occupied as the minutes passed, random students coming in and out to get small cuts and scraps attended too.

Pietro was going back and forth, something Bella had never seen him do. At a normal pace anyway. He was busy actually helping out a few of the students who had walked in, handing them water or helping patch them up. Bella smiled as she wiped a bit of crusted blood from her cheek. Hopefully, now, everything could calm down and she could go on a date with her boyfriend. They hadn't been on one in a while. Bella slid off the medical table she was sitting on and quietly made her way to the back of the room. She pushed open a door and stepped inside.

When Jean had came into the Infirmary, she set Logan down in a bed and moved Emma to a secluded room in the back of the Infirmary. Bella guessed it was for long medical stays, like when Alyce was burnt by Magma some months back. Bella quietly closed the door and made her way to were Emma slept. The room was dark, except for a dim light that was near Emma. Her clothes had been changed from her all white attire, to a simple pair of a dark blue shorts and a tank top. Who had changed her, Bella didn't know and she wondered who would _want_ to change the clothes on Emma Frost.

Bella wiped the rest of her face with the cold towel and folded it neatly before putting it into her pocket. She took a step toward Emma, but stopped herself. What was she going to do? Her curiosity had taken her as far as this room, all she really wanted to do was _see_ what Emma looked like. She had heard Jean talking with Hank about Emma's 'status', and how she couldn't believe Charlie and Alyce could so something like that. Bella chuckled quietly to herself, a part of her feeling bad for Emma but not so much. Bella moved toward Emma, she looked down at her and shook her head. Alyce and Charlie really did a bang up job 'taking care' of Emma. Suddenly, a hand grabbed onto her wrist causing Bella to squeak. She spun around, ready to punch her attacker, when she saw John's face.

"You _scared_ me." Bella sassed him, firmly poking her finger into his chest. He stumbled back from her poke, causing him to groan in pain as he applied pressure to his leg. He grabbed onto her hand for support and balanced himself out.

He let go of her hand and gave her a stupid look. "You think you would be more gentle to a hurting man." John croaked, biting his lip so he could get his mind off of the pain from his leg. John knew Bella had seen him when he came limping into the Infirmary with Hank, was her attention span really short?

"I'm sorry, but you should know better before you go scaring a girl." Bella retorted. She gave him an apologetic smile and he rolled his eyes in acceptance. "Have you seen--"

"Nope, I really don't want to either." John interrupted.

Bella gave John the once over and sighed. Was he really going soft on her? Didn't John like the gruesome bad things in life? "Why not?" She asked, being coy. "You're scared?"

John sighed and began to limp toward the door. He needed to sit down to get the pain off from his leg. He leaned on the doorknob and looked back at Bella. "Not in the least bit scared of that woman. I'm more scared that if I look at her now, I'll might want to punch her face in even more."

Bella rolled her eyes. "You're lying, you know that you're really sc---AIEEEEE!" Bella suddenly screamed. John was about to turn back to see what was wrong, when the door was slammed open causing him to fall onto his rear and bang his head on a nearby machine. He groaned in even more pain and huddled into the fetal position. This was going to be the _last_ time he would check on Bella. Bad things always happened when he did.

"What-happened-are-you-ok?!" Came Pietro's fast voice. He pulled Bella toward him, wondering what was wrong with her. The girl could_ really _shriek. Bella pouted and shook her wrist back and forth in the air. She latched onto Pietro and he enveloped her into a hug.

"H...h-elp~" John mumbled on the floor. He gripped at his head and growled when no one responded to him. The lights turned onto the room and a pair of footsteps walked into the room. A pair of furry blue arms helped John up and helped him regain his balance.

"What happened?" Jean asked, worried.

Pietro shot a glance over to John. "I bet the little jerk did something to Bella." He assumed, rubbing Bella's shoulders. Bella shook her head. Someone had grabbed onto her wrist, that someone being the supposedly 'knocked out' Emma Frost. Before she could defend John he piped up.

"Me? Get over yourself, Maximoff." He checked the growing bump that was forming on the back of his head and he gave Pietro an annoyed look. "_Go fuck yourself_." His look spoke and Pietro let go of Bella, ready to send a punch toward the Pyro's face.

"What's......going on?" A quiet, meek voice was heard. Everyone, wide eyed, looked toward Emma, who was propped up on one elbow. She wiped at her eyes with her other hand and slowly sat up from where she lay. Her blond hair fell into her face and she tucked it behind her ears. She winced upon touching the gash on her brow, and that's when she looked up. Everyone remained quiet. Her blue eyes met each and everyone's and they all casted their gaze down. Everyone except John, who had the most biggest smile on his face.

"John?" Emma called out, wondering if it was really him. Her vision was still blurred and she couldn't quite see. She was never on good terms with the boy, but maybe if he saw her; the way she looked and how hurt she was, maybe he would help. She slowly positioned herself in a different way and slipped one leg to the floor. "Can you help me?" She asked, she knew there were more than one person in the room. Someone had to help. The only thing she heard as John's hearty chuckle.

"The old lady needs some help, guys! Someone give her her cane!"


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**: Feathered Cap, Red White & Blue Trap

James left his daughter outside. Most fathers would've taken their daughters inside after a big bad wolf, like Victor, showed up. But he knew his daughter would be just fine outside with her demonoid friends. James walked up the marble stairs and crossed his arms over his chest. He sighed and shook his head, the entire front part of the Mansion was beyond wrecked. Not to mention a few of the windows on the side. James stepped over the fallen door and it sunk into the ground. He stepped up to the Mansion and placed his hand on the cool brick surface. In a matter of seconds the front of the Mansion, and any other run down spots, were good as new.

"What would you guys do without me?" James murmured to himself, smiling, as he walked into the Mansion. Charlie had told him what had happened to Logan and he wanted to make sure the old guy was alright. It was his duty as an old friend to do so. James knew Logan was probably up and walking around like nothing happened. An old memory popped in James' head and he chuckled. There had been this one time, he had sent Logan flying out of window (yea, don't ask), and the guy came waltzing back inside like nothing had ever happened. He did the same to James. He had gotten stuck in a tree.

As James walked around the Mansion, he wished he could fix the rest of the damages that were inside. But he didn't feel like breaking any lights, he would have to remind Alyce to do the deed. James soon found himself standing in front of one, of many, concealed elevators. He pressed a panel on the wall and the wall opened, revealing a bright interior. He stepped inside, his eyes squinted due to the bright light. He had learned to adjust his life around the night, but when he had to be in a bright area he dealt with it. He didn't like it much, but he dealt with it. Lilia had always called him "The Pale One". Explanation not necessary there. The elevator stopped and opened quietly. He knew Emma was around here somewhere, in one of the many rooms, but he had vowed to his wife that he wasn't going to make any problems. James was only here to help his daughter and check on his old buddy. That was it.

A door opened to his right as he walked and he stopped. Jean walked outside of the room, running her hands threw her hair and tying it back into a ponytail. She looked up, a bit startled to see James. She laughed out her nervousness and James chuckled his apology.

"You're just like Alyce. Popping up out of no where." Jean took in a breath, trying to clear her nerves. She placed her hands on her hips and gave James a stern look. Years ago, when had first stayed at the Mansion, he had pulled the exact same stunts. Most of the time, Jean would shriek at the top of her lungs.

"Like father, like daughter, they say." James shrugged. What could he say? He was proud his daughter took up after his traits. He patted Jean's shoulders and shook her gently. "Where's old man Logan?" James asked.

Jean steadied herself from James gently shakes and took a side step, escaping from his grip. She smoothed out her shirt and gave him a motherly look. After years of knowing him, he still had his ways of acting childish. Which wasn't a bad thing at all, if anything, Jean liked it. The rest of the men around the Mansion were always trying to be so big and bad. "He's in the briefing room. It's a good thing you came, he's been in there all by himself for the past hour."

James let out a bellowing laughter. "The dude is probably crying like a little girl!" He wiped a fake tear from his eye, giving the impression that it was, indeed, a funny sight to imagine. "Anyway, any dark places around? Figure the guy might need a beer....or two."

Jean rolled her eyes. Boys _will_ be boys. She pointed to a nearby room and watched as James jogged into it. He came out a few seconds later, two cases of beer in his hands. "You want one?" He asked, holding up a case, a few ice sprinkles dropped to the floor. Jean shook her head and waved him off.

"I'm not really a beer girl."

"Oh, right. Ms. Grey only likes the expensive stuff."

The two shared their laugh and parted ways. James heading off to see Logan. Jean turning around and getting ready to do what she had to do to Emma Frost.

*

*

James quietly opened the door to the room Logan was in. He balanced the beer cases on top of each other, in his arms, holding them steady with his chin. The last thing he needed was a claw to the face and.....all this delicious beer go to waste. That was just blasphemous. Said delicious beer belonged in the tummies of abled bodied men, not on the floor. James peered inside the room, searching for a pointy haired Wolverine. He spotted him sitting, his head resting on a large circular table.

"Stop acting like a little girl." James spoke up, causing Logan to sit up in his chair. James placed the two cases of beer on the table and pushed one toward his old friend. He sat down and took one of his one, opening it and clinking the bottle together with Logan's.

"I really needed one of these." Logan murmured before taking a long sip from the green bottle.

"Yea, well--" James covered his mouth as he burped. "---whole case if for you, dude."

Logan looked at the case of beer and took in a relaxing breath. He had been so beer deprived ever since he came to this school. He finished gulping down the first bottle and took out another.

"Whoa, hey. Those gotta last you know." James warned, still sipping his first beer with a delicacy. Logan looked at him with an annoyed gaze and continued to chug down his beer. He let out a bellowing burp before lounging back on his chair.

"What brings you here?"

James took another sip from his beer before answering. "You should know. The Wife. She knew what was happening and I can't let my baby girl get trashed by some maniac. Well, actually, I would've let her handle it on her own, but Lilia yelled at me." James frowned, but then quickly vanished the look from his face. "How you holding up? Victor still _looks_ the same." James marveled. The first time he had seen Victor was when he was still a young man. Logan and Victor were years older than James, but he still marveled at how they still managed to look so young.

"Victor Creed." Logan murmured, opening up another beer. "Was _not_ expecting him."

"Heard through the grape-vine that it was Emma who hired him. You think she might know more about you than you think?"

Logan shrugged. "Could be...what did you do with the guy anyway? I wouldn't mind sinking my claws in again."

James chuckled. "I sent that little pansy crying like a little girl into the forest. Don't worry though, you'll be able to track him." James pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket and slid it over to Logan.

"What's this?" Logan raised an eye brow and glared at the tiny piece of folded paper.

"Stop being a little wuss and open the shit. If you _must_ know, I nabbed it from Victor's pocket."

Logan sighed and set down his beer. He fumbled with the tiny paper and opened it. He shot James a look before reading what was on it once more. "You've got to be shitting me." Logan rolled his eyes and crumbled up the paper.

"Hey! C'mon, there's no reason to not look into that." James defended his little piece of paper. He grabbed it from the table and opened it back up, laying it face up on the table for Logan to see. "Emma....she knows _way_ more than you think."

"She could've told him to keep that on him. To mislead, it's a fake. There's no wa---"

"Steve Rogers. We both know who that is. You more than me, because it _was_ you who helped him out in World War II. Jesus man, you're fuckin' _old._" James chuckled. He saw the stern look on Logan's face and sighed. "Ok, all jokes aside. You are old. But, anyway, look. There's no harm in following up on this. If Emma knows some stuff, and Victor does as well it would mean trouble."

"Like what? Rogers can take care of himself."

"Ooo~" James put on a girly voice. "Lookit me, I'm Captain America...I have this big shield and I have wings on my head---big _shit. _Look, if I were you I would look into it. Emma might know about your past if she knows about you working with Steve. And if you ask me....Mister Capitan' ain't lasting five minutes with Victor."

"I bet Rogers could clean the floor with you in five..." Logan mocked, causing James to scowl. Logan knew that if James didn't convince him, Lilia would do so.

"Whatever. The point is, what if Victor's going after everyone you used to work with?"

Logan chuckled and pointed his beer bottle at James. "That would be you, _too_." He added, watching as James closed his mouth and grew pale (if that was even possible). James face was priceless but he regained his composure in a couple of minutes. He took another swig of his beer.

"Hey, it would be a reason as to why he attacked my daughter and wanted to kidnap Bella. Even _more_ of a reason to look into this. If you need hel--"

"I know what you're going to say. Lilia's going to make me agree no matter what. Isn't she tired of traveling?"

James chuckled. "Are you kidding me? If you need help that woman jumps to the opportunity. She thinks of you as the brother she never had, dude."

Logan laughed and took the paper from the table. He folded it neatly and placed it into his jean pocket. James and Lilia had accompanied him before when he was trying to search about his past and they had more of a help to him than he thought. It was nice to know they were always willing to lend a helping hand. "Lilia would have to do some digging...they're wiping out Emma's mind before they set her loose."

James opened another beer, chuckling. Emma Frost deserved to get eaten alive by bugs, or ripped apart by horses. But that was just James. "Good for that bitch. You guys should drop her off naked in the middle of the arctic."


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**: Derma

Alyce couldn't remember the last time she had eaten a proper meal. Now that Emma was officially going to be out of the picture, Alyce's appetite had shot through the roof. She washed her hands in the kitchen sink and was thankful most of the students were already back in their rooms. It meant she could have her take of the fridge and not worry about any one else grabbing something she wanted. A big smile on her face, her stomach grumbling, Alyce made her way to the hug refrigerator and opened both doors. The blast from the freezer hit one side of her body and the light from the fridge hit the other.

Her smile grew even bigger, if that was even possible, as Alyce saw all the food. She pulled out the ingredients to make a massive sandwich and closed the fridge doors with her hip. She walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a loaf of Italian bread, and now, she was read to make her sandwich. After she had stacked different cheeses and hams on her bread she mushed the sandwich together and took a huge bite.

"Whoa, someone is hungry." John joked as he limped into the kitchen. She smiled at him as she chewed happily and watched as he dug around the fridge for something to eat. He settled on some sort of chicken salad, grabbed a fork and sat down across from Alyce. "How's that tasting for you?" He asked, pointing with his fork at Alyce's sandwich.

"Pretty good." Alyce smiled once more, swallowing the huge mouthful. "I never pegged you for the salad type of guy."

"A man should be able to enjoy a salad every now and then..." John glared and with an exaggerated motion, dug his fork into the cold salad and stuck it in his mouth. Alyce chuckled and wiped at her forehead. She knew she was still a bit dirty from fighting Victor, she probably still had grass in her hair but it didn't matter. She was eating this sandwich and it was the best thing. Showering would be second best and third best would be; Finally getting some sleep.

"You know, in a few months we graduate." Alyce patted her hand on the table and formed two ice cold sodas. She pushed one toward John and he thanked her. "Then...college."

"Everyone except for Bella." John joked. Though Bella seemed like an older girl than she seemed, in reality she was still two years younger than Alyce. "Anyway, yea. I can't stand school and it's not like we have a choice about this college crap."

"It's a good thing it's all covered in the Mansion. And, as long as we stay a team everyone will still see each others faces. Not so scary when you think about it." Alyce wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and started to make another sandwich.

John shoveled another fork full of chicken salad into his mouth. "Never said it was scary, I just don't like the idea of doing _more_ school."

"Suck it up, John-Boy." Alyce laughed, dodging a glob of chicken salad. "At least we won't have to worry about Emma."

The tone between the conversation turned serious as soon as Alyce mentioned that one name. John tensed up as he ate his food, clenching his fist. "I still wouldn't put it over her to do something again." He murmured looking at Alyce. He still wished he could've gotten a hit at her.

"That's not something to worry about now. The only thing to be thinking about is how awesome life is going to be, again, now that she's getting her brain fried." Forming a fork in her hand, Alyce leaned over the table and forked a load of chicken salad into her mouth. "Pretty good...." She added, referring to the food.

"Do you remember the first time we met in here?" John asked, not like him to be going sentimental. But why not?

Alyce nodded and took a sip of her soda. "Like yesterday, really. I still think you brain washed me into following you...."

John let out a laugh. "Bullshit. You knew you had the hots for me."

"Cocky are we?" Alyce laughed. "Whose to say you didn't for me?" She asked, closing up the tie on the bread and putting away the cheeses and hams she used. She laughed once more when John didn't respond and she knew she had got him there. "Or, do I have to remind you who kissed who first?" She closed the fridge and leaned on the doors, giving John a sly look. She knew he hated reminiscing, especially if it involved something that made him seem anything but the bad ass he made himself out to be. He continued eating his chicken salad in silence and Alyce sat next to him.

"How's your leg?" She asked, changing the conversation so John would talk. She still found it funny, and as she leaned in to kiss him on the cheek she could feel the heat rising from them.

"Leg as seen better days, no doubt." He remained silent for a few more minutes, finishing up his food before he spoke again. "So what's going to happen now?"

Alyce thought for a minute. "Well, who knows. Pietro and Avalanche will go back to the Brotherhood, we'll go to class like how we normally did. Go out on the weekends with everyone, have fun. Pick at each other, maybe start a food fight in the cafeteria."

"Sounds good...you ever think what we'll do if we were ever to leave the Mansion?"

"I never thought about that, really." Alyce answered truthfully. Now that he had brought it up, it _was_ a scary thing. They were all growing up and soon what could they do at the Mansion? Teach? Train younger kids? Would they spend their entire life at the Mansion?

"I don't know about you, Alyce, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life here."

Alyce sighed. "Who would?" She got up from where she sat and leaned on John's back. "We just got over worry about Emma and everything that had happened. Can we just..._not_ think about something troublesome?"

John spun around in the swivel bar stool and wrapped his arms around Alyce's waist. She chuckled when he pulled her in and she rest her hands on his shoulders. For once he would agree with her, right now all they needed to do was relax and get back into their normal lives.

"How long do you think the good times will last before something crazy happens again?" He asked, rocking her back and forth with his arms. "Bad luck follows you _everywhere._"

Alyce chuckled and pulled John into a hug. She bit her lip, thinking if she should say what she was thinking. She had never been flirtatious with him, maybe once or twice. For the record, it was always John coaxing her into something daring. John pulled apart from her hug and looked up at Alyce. She looked back with her blue eyes, a playful smile on her lips.

"You're thinking something." John chuckled, grabbing at her sides. "Tell me, or I swear to God, I'll hurt you."

"With that messed up leg? I don't think so." Alyce teased. He gave her a pinch and she yelped. Giving in, she decided to tell him what she was thinking. "Bad luck doesn't follow me _everywhere_." She spoke, taking a step out of John's grasp and giving him a sly look.

He knew what she was talking about. "We did get caught by Logan, before." John laughed, remembering the look on Logan's face like it was yesterday. Utterly priceless, the look on that man's face. Then Pietro bumping into Logan with Bella in his arms. Classic. "Besides, your dad is here. I'm not---"

"John. I think I know my own Dad. Trust me. I say we have about a few minutes left, if I go to take a shower.....are you feeling daring enough?" Alyce knew she had John there. He would never pass up the opportunity to prove that he was, indeed, the daring man he had said he was. She stuck out her hand and the two phased and ended up in her room. She quickly walked into the shower, turning on the water. She walked out to grab her clothes, and stopped.

"Goddammit..." Alyce cursed, looking as Bella walked into the room. John cursed under his breath as well and ended up plopping himself on the bed, no doubt to go to sleep. Another soiled attempt. Bella looked at John, then over to Alyce.

"What?!" She asked, slapping her hands on her thighs. "It's my room too, geez."

John groaned and slapped a pillow over his head and Alyce walked back into the bathroom. She peeled off her dirty clothes and dropped them into a small hamper. She hopped into the shower and grabbed the nearest shampoo bottle. Bella had so many for different things, why couldn't shampoo just be shampoo? She squeezed a massive amount of pink shampoo into her hands and began to wash her hair.

"Did I interrupt something?" Bella asked, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. Alyce chuckled.

"You didn't, it's ok. What's up?" Alyce asked. She scrubbed the tiny leaves out of her hair and grabbed the bar of soap to get rid of all the muck that was on her body. Her and John would need to wait for another time to get intimate.

"Just wanted to talk ab---"

"BAD LUCK!" John shouted, loud enough to reach into the bathroom and be heard over the roaring shower. Bella, having no idea what he was talking about shouted at him to shut up. Alyce laughed. Bella slammed the door to the bathroom and plopped down onto of the toilet seat.

"What's his problem?" Bella asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back. She flicked at the shower curtains to get Alyce's attention. Alyce flicked it back, washing out the rest of the shampoo and putting in conditioner. Surely, Bella had to have _some_ idea about what John meant. But then again, it _was_ Bella she was talking about. Alyce chuckled, it was good Bella still had that innocent state of mind.

"Boys will be boys, Bella. Boys will be boys."

____

A/N: Yes, boys will be boys, lol. Another reminder to the readers, tomorrow I'm leaving D:. Don't worry! Updates will still come, just at a much slower rate. :]


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55****: **Audio-Video

It was already three in the morning. The Mansion was quiet, everyone sleeping soundly behind closed doors. Everyone except for Bella Garland. Lately, Bella found herself turning into more of a night owl than her usual early bird self. This was something she had to have picked up from Alyce, that girl could go days without sleep. Bella had to commend her weird cousin, staying up late at night made it a lot easier to think. There was no rustle in the Mansion. You could, literally, hear a pin drop. Bella found the thoughts coming faster to her mind as she sat in the dark, quiet library.

Bella had taken up residence in one of the lecture rooms in the back of the library. She huddled in her sweater and sat on the floor. She propped her feet up on a stack of books and sighed. Bella knew she had to finish planning what she needed to, or else everything would turn into a disaster. Idly, she opened the pages of a nearby book, scanning the words. She found nothing interesting, nothing to spark her imagination. What was she going to do? What was the great Bella Garland going to do about.......

Alyce's birthday.

It was coming up soon, a week to be precise, and Bella had no idea on how she was going to plan it. This would have to be the first birthday Alyce ever celebrated in the Mansion. Before she came to the Mansion, Alyce would call Bella up and the two would just hang out. Lilia would make a cake and James would mush Alyce's face into it. But now, things were different. _Way_ different. Planning wasn't going to be hard. It wasn't that. It was getting everything together without Alyce knowing that was going to be hard. The girl was never fond of birthday parties, and she sure as hell wasn't going to start now.

How was Bella going to do this?

The sleepy blonde yawned and plopped another random book into her lap. She turned the pages, her eyes watering from the yawn. Bella knew if even one word slipped to Alyce, the whole party was going to be ruined. Why her cousin hated birthday parties, Bella didn't know. There was a difference, from back then and now. Alyce had friends. Back then, she didn't. Bella chuckled and closed the book in her lap. Alyce had befriended the X-Team _and_ The Brotherhood, that right there was enough to start a party. So what was _so_ hard? A surprise party had it's cons. Everyone shouting surprise, and BOOM! Alyce would probably level out the entire room, or chop everyone's head off. Not that she scared easily, anything but, she just despised social gatherings. Once more, Bella didn't understand why at all.

Bella got up from where she sat and walked over to the teachers desk. She fished around for a piece of paper and nabbed a pen off the floor. She sat in the wooden chair and pushed the pen on the paper. "Who _not_ to tell about the Surprise Party....." Bella wrote, mumbling the words to herself. "Obviously, Alyce....." She chuckled to herself, writing Alyce's name down.

"Next......" She pondered for a bit, sticking the top of her pen into her mouth. She shook her head. "Remy, your name is on this list." Bella felt bad, but she knew if she told Remy, he would blurt it out. Not on purpose, just because he was always so gosh darn enthusiastic. He would have to be the last to know. If Bella sworn him to secrecy, maybe, just _maybe_ he would stay hushed up. Third on the list was a no brainier.

Kitty Pryde.

Once again, Bella felt bad. She liked the girl. But she couldn't keep a secret to save her life. When it came to the latest celebrity tabloids, Bella was convinced Kitty knew before the celebrities knew themselves. Kitty had ears like a mouse and eyes like a hawk, the tiniest bit of info would cause the girl to go haywire. Buzzing around like a fruit fly until the word was spread.

As for the next name? Bella was stumped. She _could_ put John, she knew once she told him, he would comply. _Anything_ to poke fun at Alyce. It wasn't a Red Family party if uncle James didn't whip out the family videos. John would definitely get a hoot out of that, Bella always did. She set down the pen on the paper and covered her mouth before she could laugh. When they were younger, James was either scaring them half to death or pranking them in some shape or form. Most of the time, both of them were caught on tape screaming their lungs out, but it was mostly Alyce getting the worst of it. Bella picked up her pen and wrote down another title.

"Must haves for Surprise Party. Number One, Family Videos." Bella chuckled and underlined the words twice. Alyce would probably get a bit mad, but Bella knew she would get a kick out of watching the videos. Other things, like the basics of a party, didn't need to be listed. Things were getting into place. Now all she had to do was get the right people to start. She began writing down names, first one being Uncle James and Aunty Lilia. Bella knew they would help her out more than anyone else. Then came Rogue, Pietro, Piotr and John. Their main job would be to distract Alyce from knowing anything...._wait_. Did any of them even know Alyce's birthday was coming up? Bella growled. This was something she should've thought of in the beginning. There was no way in _hell_ Alyce would ever tell someone her birthday. She _never_ did. What was such the big deal?!

At the bottom of the page, Bella began to draw a little demon face, giving it black hair. She drew a little word bubble next to it. "My name is Alyce, and I'm a big weirdo..." Bella wrote into the bubble, chuckling. She gave the little mock Alyce a dress and a pair of high heels. Getting her into a dress would be another problem. Bella growled and crumbled up the paper, throwing it on the wall and watching as it bounced to the floor.

She was going to get this party planned out. She was going to get Alyce into a cute little dress, do her hair and make her wear heels. Bella had one week to get everything in motion. Right now, Bella just wanted to climb into bed and sleep. She looked at the clock in the room and let out a loud sigh. She had been in the room for two hours and now it was five o' clock. She pushed back her hair and rolled up the sleeves to her sweater. There was no time for rest, she had to get started.

"I can sleep when I'm dead!" Bella announced into the air as she stormed out of the room. She didn't plan on dying anytime soon.

Bella was going to be up for a very long time.

____

A/N: Update, yes. Slow, yes. But an update nonetheless! Another chapter to come when I am away from my younger nephew's sight. He really has a lot of energy, lol.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Sectioned Off

Hank was sparing her all the juicy details, Alyce knew that for a fact. She didn't really mind, she knew what had happened to Emma. Alyce just wanted the play by play. She wanted to know everything little detail from every little thing, but, once again; Hank was sparing her.

Alyce was still half asleep, as well, so she was some what thankful of Hank being so stubborn. All that information would probably end up in one ear and out the other. She had gotten up extra early, prying herself out of comfortable blankets, and into the lower levels of the Mansion just to speak with him. As Alyce walked through the halls, she noticed one thing. All traces of Emma Frost were completely gone. It was like Emma had completely vanished. Her office was empty, as if no one was ever there to begin with. Her bedroom, the bed stripped of it's sheets and the walls bare.

Why couldn't this have happened when the trouble first started?

That was the only question Alyce was thinking of as she watched Hank organize his work station. She leaned over and rested her head on his desk, papers being shuffled and re arranged. Various medical jargon littered the papers that were in his hands and he huffed in annoyance upon seeing his garbage bin full.

"If you are done being sleepy, make some use and empty this?" Hank asked, not looking up from his papers. He motioned to the garbage bin with a blue furry hand and Alyce sighed. She didn't come down here to play pick up, but she ended up getting out of her seat and grabbing the bin. Not seeing another big bin to put the trash in she dropped it into a black mass, not really caring where it ended up. Alyce plopped herself back across the desk from Hank and propped her head up on her hands.

"So, it's done? You seem pretty calm..." Alyce spoke, still trying to get some more info out of the Beast. He sighed and put his papers back in their draws. He took the glasses off his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. His eyes looked at hers and he took in a breath.

"My dear, I am always calm. You get no where with an angry head." He placed his glasses on the desk and reclined back in his seat. He could tell that Alyce was still a bit nervous, worried, about the entire situation. In all honesty, he was too. "There is nothing more to worry about, when it comes to that woman." Hank reasurred, giving Alyce a small smile. She nodded her head in agreement.

"Maybe next time, you guys won't be so hesitant to get rid of the problem." Alyce shot a look at Hank, who now seemed downright annoyed. The two of them had their own ways of joking around, and this was one of them. Odd enough, but it made sense to them.

"There won't _be_ a next time." Hank smiled. "Now, if we are done with all that---"

"Actually...I was hoping I could pry some more informa---"

"You could pry some more trash out of my office." Hank cut her off, just as she did him. He plopped a huge stack of papers from his desk in front of Alyce and placed a hand on top of them. "And don't just phase them threw the floor."

Alyce rolled her eyes in a mock disagreement, but got up from where she sat and hugged the papers in her arms. She gave Hank one more look, and he let out a loud sigh. "You already know the basics of it. Jean wiped her mind. Any memories of what happened in this Mansion or anything related is done."

"What about her Mansion and the Cuckoos?"

Hank plopped some more paper in front of Alyce and she picked it up. "The Cuckoos---" He spoke, fishing around for some more papers. "--the Cuckoos are just fine. They Professor has been working with them and they are not in the least bit worried about Emma. There is no reason to think that they will follow in Emma's footsteps."

"I never said they would."

"You didn't need to say anything. You're thinking it." The two shared a look before Hank continued to speak. "As for the Mansion Emma was using, it's back to what it was. An abandoned old Mansion. And before you even say it, because I know you are....Emma will _not_ somehow remember everything and come back for revenge."

"How do you know?" Alyce asked, dropping the papers into another black mass. Hank shot her a look and she rolled her eyes, plucking out the papers from the black mass and holding them back in her arms. "How do you know? She could hit her head and suddenly remember everything."

"Alyce, this isn't a movie. While some things do happen of the such, doesn't mean it will 100%."

"So my _last_ question?" Alyce looked at him for approval and he nodded, signaling for her to ask. She fumbled around with the papers in her arms. "Why didn't Jean just do it in the first place?"

Hank let out a laugh, shaking his head softly and pushing more paper toward Alyce. "You have a lot to learn about the world works and the ethics that are involved with such actions."

Alyce shrugged and gathered some more litter to take out. As she walked out of Hank's office, her mind began to ponder some more. Exactly what were the ethics behind that? It was Emma Frost. The woman was a tyrant, a monster. She had did so much to this school in a few weeks, that for others would've taken months. She had successfully divided a school and made friends into enemies. She got everyone on edge, she flipped everything around. And now, it was done. Boom.

So why _not_? Why couldn't Jean do what she did at the first sign of trouble?

Hank got up from his desk and walked to the door, watching as Alyce turned to wait for the elevator. He crossed his arms over his chest and chuckled. "You know when they say; 'You'll understand when you get older'?" He called out to her, knowing full well that Alyce was having a thousand questions race through her mind.

"What about it?" Alyce called back, stepping half way into the elevator to hold the doors open. Was Hank going to tell her some sort of juicy tidbit that he hadn't before? Hopefully, he was.

"Well....you'll understand when you get older!" He howled into laughter. Alyce growled and marched into the elevator with a scowl on her face, papers flying behind her as she slammed her hand on the elevator panel.

*  
*

It was the first time Rogue had a full fledged conversation inside of a girl's bathroom. She could thank Bella for putting her through this life changing experience. Rogue didn't really have a say in where the conversation would take place, and she suddenly wished she had. As Bella dragged her to the back of the bathroom, the sounds of the flushing toilets and gushing showers weren't very pleasing to hear. Not so pleasing to hear when there was a weird smell to accompany it. Neither girls wanted to know about the smell.

Bella tugged on Rogue one last time and stopped in front of a window. Quickly, Bella opened it, sticking her head outside and taking in a deep breath. Rogue did just the same and the two shared a look.

"'Ah thank God 'Ah don't have to deal with these showers anymore." Rogue took in another breath and leaned her elbows on the window sill. Bella stuck out her tongue and pretended to gag.

"I don't even want to know how you dealt with them. I'm just fine with sharing a bathroom with Alyce."

Rogue laughed. She felt bad for the other girls who didn't have single shared rooms, but instead had to bunk with a massive group of girls in the main dorm. Much like them, when Rogue first got to the Mansion she was placed in the main dorm. Only a few weeks after she joined the X-Men did she get her own room. Then came Kitty. Rogue was snapped back from her thoughts when Bella nudged her gently.

"So......wanna hear how it's going to go down?" Bella whispered, giving Rogue a sly look. The Southern Belle couldn't help but laugh at Bella's failed mischievous face. Bella rolled her eyes as Rogue laughed and waited for her to calm down.

"'Ah don't even know why 'ya dragged me here." Rogue had been sitting down in the day room, minding her own business, when a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She didn't even know it was Bella until she saw her blonde hair and smelled her floral perfume. Rogue looked at Bella and sighed.

"'Ya know when Remy finds out 'Ahm missing, he's gunna' start lookin'."

Bella rolled her eyes once more and turned around to lean her back on the window sill. "Number one, it's not like Remy's going to barge into the girls bathr---"

"Oh, trust me. He will." Rogue interrupted Bella and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll make it quick then." Bella smiled. "Alyce's birthday is coming up and I want to throw her a surprise party. The thing is, you and I both know, Alyce needs some distracting. I already have some other people in mind to help and I need you to spread the word."

Rogue raised her eye brows and let a small smile plaster itself on her face. "This sounds like it's going to be fun."

"But you can't tell Remy." Bella quickly added, shaking her finger. "He has to be the absolute last person to know." Bella placed her hands on Rogue's shoulders and gently shook her. "The _LAST_ to know."

Rogue chuckled and gripped onto Bella's elbows for balance. She knew perfectly well why Bella was so worried about Remy knowing, and she knew it wasn't because Bella was being mean. Remy just got extremely hyper over some things, which usually lead him to blurt things out on a whim. "Don't worry 'Ah get it just fine."

Bella smiled and nodded at Rogue. She gripped at her nose with her fingers and pointed down the hall to Rogue. Rogue did just the same, and the two girls made the long trek back toward the bathroom exit. They had plans to make and they couldn't be made in a girls bathroom.

*

*

John saw the two girls in the cafeteria. Both huddled over their salads, whispering and giggling as if they had made their own girls club. John picked at his food, not really hungry. His appetite had been replaced with curiosity. What were Rogue and Bella talking about that they had to look so secretive about it?

If they did build a secret club house, John was already planning on burning it down.

He picked up his tray and mushed it into a nearby garbage can, not caring if the tray went with it. He shoved the tray one last time and it went into the can. He peered over, taking another look as Rogue and Bella continued giggling their secrets. He suddenly wished Alyce was with him, not that he never did, but now would be the perfect time. The two of them could pull the most awesome prank, but it looked like John was going to have to go solo this time. He rubbed his hands together, diabolically, and slowly made his way toward the two girls.

He ignored the strange looks from other students as he glided past their tables. The closer he got to them, the more words he could make out. He hadn't thought of a prank yet but was sure an idea would come to him sooner or later. Sooner more than later, however. He was practically two feet away from the girls when he could hear what they were saying. And he was liking this.

"So, all we need the decorations and that's it." Bella whispered, smiling.

John folded his arms over his chest, remaining quiet as he listened.

"Yup! Alyce is going to love this. 'Ah still can't believe we're doing this birthday party for h---"

"OOOOOOOOO!" John raised his voice. "I'm telling!" He teased, both girls jumping up from their seats. He dodged a punch from Bella and made his way around the table, plopping himself down across from them. "Naughty, Naughty...." John coaxed, wagging his finger in a dramatic way at Bella then to Rogue.

The two girls looked at each other with grim faces. Their cover was blown. John was going to tell Alyce? There wouldn't be much of a surprise after that. John laughed, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye. "Priceless, the look on you two's faces."

"John! If you have any compassion toward me, you won't tell Alyce." Bella pleaded, putting on her best doggie eyed face.

John rolled his eyes. He gave Bella a stupid look and tapped his fingers on the table. "You're serious?" He asked, watching as Bella nodded happily.

_"Please_, John? I know you're a good guy. Deep down, right?" Bella looked over to Rogue and she shrugged. At least she was trying. John let out another laugh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You really _are_ stupid." John chuckled, watching as Bella wrinkled her face into a confused look. John tugged on a strand of Bella's hair and she shooed his hand away. "You got scrambled eggs for brains. Did you two just seriously think that I didn't know Alyce's birthday? She _is_ my girl---"

"Whatever, John." Bella growled. "I don't care if you know, I just care about you telling her what we're going to do!"

Rogue, sensing the approaching argument between the two, got up from her seat. She took her tray and watched as Bella emptied out her bowl of good onto the table and aimed for John's head. She flinched as the bowl crashed into the wall, John yelling at Bella (about her horrible aim, and not the fact she just almost tried to kill him) and the two got into it.

"Just you wait, Bella, as soon as I find A---"

"You're _not_ going to find her!" Bella shouted, interrupting John and throwing her water bottle toward him.

Anyone who vaguely knew of John, knew that right now he was teasing the hell out of Bella. All he really liked to do was get a rise out of someone and most of the time, this being one of them, he succeeded in doing so. One didn't have to really know the Pyro to understand some of his actions. Rogue flinched as another loud crash was heard and she took this as her cue to leave. She already knew what her part of the plan was, and unlike Bella, she knew John wasn't going to tell. In all odds, he was probably going to ask for in.

Rogue emptied out her tray, laughing as she heard another crash and John letting out a evil chuckle. Bella must've bumped into _something_. She turned around, ready to leave, when she bumped into someone. She staggered back and a hand reached out and grabbed her gloved hand. She was pulled back toward the person and before she knew it she was looking into a pair of bright blue eyes.

Icy blue eyes.

"Rogue....we need to talk."


	57. Chapter 57

A/N: Readers! I'm back! Starting tomorrow, chapters a la regular! lol. This chapter may seem choppy, it feels like ages since I've wrote something (so bare with it, please?) so this may be re-written. I just wanted to get something out for everyone. Anywho, excited to be back and have you guys read! :D

**Chapter 57**: Heart Is Beating Fast

"Rogue....we need to talk." Came the quiet voice. The hand, that was holding onto Rogue's hand, moved up and clenched over her upper arm. Someone had just grabbed her so suddenly, it had startled her. The person pulled on her, trying to lead her some where but Rogue wasn't going to follow. Before Rogue could protest and shout out for Bella, she was pulled into the hall with her back placed against the wall. Once more she looked into a pair of icy blue eyes.

"'Ah don't want ta' talk ta' 'ya, Bobby." Rogue said sourly, changing the look on her face from surprised to angry. She had nothing to say to this boy. He had broken up with her and that was the end of it. A part of her did feel bad, they could be friends but she knew it would never be the same. Never _feel_ the same. He wasn't the same Bobby she had met before, he had turned into Emma's lacky. To the whole team he would forever be just that.

"Rogue...please." Bobby sighed, his hand being pushed away by Rogue. He could feel the anger rise up in him but he knew he had to calm himself down. He still hadn't been able to shake the effects of what Emma had done to him, but sooner or later he would be back to himself. He took a step back, gently placing his hands on Rogue's shoulders and looking at her with a calm face.

"Just a small talk?" His question sounding more like a plea. He squeezed her shoulders in a caring way and when he noticed her eyes soften, he smiled. He readied himself to start his small apologize when Rogue raised up her hand, the international sign for; _Wait a second._ He nodded and took another step back, crossing his arms over his chest and waiting for her.

"'Ah should warn 'ya. If 'ya stopped me ta' run your mouth and be negative then---" She pointed above them to the stair case railing. Confused, Bobby looked up. Even from the height he could make out the blue eyes peering over the railing and he knew automatically who it was.

"Oh...don't mind me." Alyce smiled, leaning over the railing and waving to Rogue. "I was just passing by."

Bobby rolled his eyes and looked back at Rogue, who crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. He looked back up to Alyce. "So you're going to stand there and be nosey?" He shot up at her.

"No, not at all. But if I find out you did something to Rogue....I think I might be nosey then." Alyce tapped her hands on the railing and gave a final wave to Rogue before disappearing from the hall. Bobby rolled his eyes and leaned on the opposite wall. Ever since Emma left everyone would look at him as if he would snap any moment. So maybe he was still a little angry, for no good reason, but it happens. The Professor had told him the moment would pass with everyone and everything would go back to normal, but Bobby knew that was a big fat lie. He had been demoted from leader of the X-Team. As to who was the new leader, he didn't know. He didn't want to know.

"Don't be scared now." Rogue spoke up. "But you're probably thinking she's a bitch--"

"I'm not--"

"It's written all over 'ya face. She wouldn't have 'ta be like that, no one would have 'ta be like that if 'ya didn't do what 'ya did."

"What are we talking about here, Rogue? Me breaking up with you or me being on Emma's team?!" He semi yelled his words, cause Rogue to plaster herself up against the wall and the walls echoing with his voice. He casted his gaze down to the floor as a group of students walked down the stairs and into the cafeteria.

"Between 'ya and everyone it's the second, between me and 'ya, Bobby, it's _both._" The only reason why Rogue felt scared, the one tiny reason was because deep down she still cared for him. In a sense she still loved him. "'Ya changed so much and--"

"I changed? Rogue, you were the one fiddling with Remy behind my back."

"Don't 'ya dare!" Rogue shouted, taking a step up and jabbing her finger into Bobby's chest. He grabbed at her hand, but she stood firm. "It wasn't like that at all. Maybe if 'ya had came and talked to me to work things out....instead of...instead of 'fiddling' with Jubilee things would be much different!" She took in a breath, watching as Bobby opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed his trap. She took this as a sign to keep going and she was going to. She was going to tell Bobby everything she could think of about them.

"'Ya thought all these things when it was never like that. Remy was my friend and when 'ya started gettin' even more stupid he became more than that. When Emma came into the picture, it's like 'ya weren't even Bobby Drake! 'Ya weren't the same person 'Ah fell in love with and---"

"Rogue..." Bobby spoke softly, massaging her hand. "I know this and I'm sorry. But what you have to see, to understand...what _everyone_ needs to understand was that it wasn't me. That wasn't Bobby Drake, that was the Bobby that belonged to Emma. You saw how she gripped at Alyce's mind...she was doing that to me. She filled my head with so much, things about you and Remy....can you honestly blame me?"

"Even before she started, 'ya were changing.....months before she came. Bobby 'Ah could tell 'ya were tired of me. When she came it was the icing on the cake."

"Look, I didn't come here to argue or for us to blame one another. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I truly am sorry, Rogue." Awkwardly, he leaned forward and placed a small kiss on the top of Rogue's head. He patted her shoulder and walked away.

"Bobby...." Rogue murmured. She heard him stop, the door being held open by his hand. She took in a deep breath and turned on her heel. "'Ahm sorry too."

Bobby chuckled softly and leaned on the double door. He stood aside for a few moments as a pair of chatting girls walked through the open door. "You don't have to be sorry for anything." Bobby whispered to Rogue, before he finally turned through the door and left into the cafeteria.

Rogue bit her lip. She was still confused on what just happened. If Bobby meant that, that she didn't have to be sorry, then why did she feel like she had to be? Why should she believe that he was sorry and he meant it? She had seen his other side and it was something she never wanted to see again. What if Bobby still had bits and pieces of Emma's influence in his mind? In his way of manner? Something still had to be there, had to be. Rogue leaned against the wall and took in a deep breath. If he was admitting that everything was his fault, why did she feel so guilty?

Rogue clenched her fists in anger. She wasn't going to let this get to her. He had apologized that was it. Rogue had other things to worry about. Like Alyce's surprise party....and how she was going to calm down the worried Remy. She hadn't been at his side since early this morning, he was probably asking everyone for help in finding her. A smile spread across her face as she pushed herself up from the wall and left to go find Remy. Her Rajin' Cajun'.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**: Little Words

After John had some time to clean himself up, he had given in to having a real conversation with Bella. He gave the blonde a blank stare as he settled himself back in his cafeteria chair. He agreed to talk to her but he wasn't agreeing on his shirt smelling like strawberry yogurt. His hair was still a bit sticky from when Bella popped the small container in his face. She claimed to not have done it on purpose....but John knew better than to believe her. She was just down right evil.

John continued to stare at Bella, watching as she cleaned her white shirt with a napkin. Why can't a man bitch about yogurt in his hair but when a girl gets it on her shirt it's the end of the world. He let out a huff, trying to get her attention but to no avail. Angrily, she plopped down across from him, blowing a strand a hair away from her face.

"You know this is a new shirt..." Bella spoke sourly, stopping what she was doing to give John a firm death glare.

"It's fucking yogurt, Bella. It's all over my hair. I'm going to be smelling like a cheap hooker."

"How do you know what a cheap hooker smells like?" Bella asked, suddenly _very_ intrigued. She shook her head upon John giving her the finger. "Ok, I don't want to know. Just take a shower.....after we talk."

"So then, just go wash your shirt..._after we talk_."

Bella ignored the sarcasm in his voice and placed the deteriorating napkin on the table. She took in a deep breath, folding her hands and placing them on the table. "I'm trying to do a surprise party for Alyce--"

"Yea, I caught all of that before." John smirked, seeing Bella get irritated. She gave him a cold look as he grabbed her soda and took a swig of it. He chuckled and picked his hands up in defense. "Calm down. I know Alyce hates the kind of thing, so I'm going to play along. Only because I want to see the look on her face."

"I'm surprised that you're even cooperating with me, but what I'm even more surprised at is how you _know_ her birthday." Bella was trying to figure out how that was even possible. Alyce hated when someone knew her birthday. She raised her hand up when a devilish smirk slapped itself onto John's face.

"Forget I even mentioned that." She added.

"Whatever, then. So what am I supposed to do? Take her out of the Mansion or something?"

A wicked smile formed on Bella's face, making John grow concerned. It was a face of evil....of pure evil. The smile on her face, it unsettled him. Ok, not unsettle but he didn't need another popped cup of yogurt in his face.

"John...I love how....sometimes you can be _so_ smart."

John let out a laugh. "You know, I sometimes say that to myself about you." He howled in laughter as Bella snatched the soda bottle out of his hand and threw it at him. So much for a 'real conversation'. He would totally love doing this as a profession. Professionally bothering Bella and making her snap for the love of some T.V. audience. With how she always found something to destroy, ratings would sore in. John dodged..._something_ and ducked into the nearest stair well.

While everything did sound like a good idea, the T.V. Show, he did want to live long enough to see, at least, 30 years of age.

*

*

Bella didn't have the time now to worry about her soiled shirt. She still had a lot to accomplish. Now that she had Rogue and John helping her, she needed someone else. Someone who was able to pick up the creative slack where she couldn't. Bella couldn't go up to Alyce and ask her to make birthday banners that would be way to obvious. The only person Bella knew with an artistic hand was Piotr. And right now, finding him was like finding a needle in a haystack. How could it be so hard to find this massive gentle giant...or so she liked to call him.

Tucking the hem of her shirt into her jeans, Bella walked down the halls of the Mansion trying her best to find Piotr. She had looked in the library and the art room. Right now, she was worried that Alyce would pull one of her 'pop up out of no where' acts. If Bella lied about what she was doing Alyce would figure it out in a pinch. Bella stopped for a minute and began to think. If she was Piotr and he wasn't inside the Mansion would he be outside? It was worth a shot to try and find out. Jogging out of the Mansion, Bella made her way to the garden. She had seen Piotr there before, and hopefully he was there now.

She spotted the Russian on a bench, an art pad in hand and his pencil gliding over the paper. A smile grew on Bella's face as she got closer to him. She took in a deep breath and halted. "PIOTR!" She yelled. She giggled, Piotr getting so startled by her sudden yell that he jerked and dropped his pad on the floor. She skipped up toward him and waved.

"Hi!" Bella beamed, clasping her hands over her chest in an exaggerated motion.

Piotr took in a breath, his hand over his heart and patting it gently. He leaned over and grabbed his art pad off the floor as Bella handed him his pencil. He gave her a stern look but found himself smiling, upon seeing Bella doing the same.

"You scared me." Piotr spoke, pointing out the obvious. He closed his sketch book and stuck the pencil behind his ear.

Bella pouted and gave him a small smile, sitting down next to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I was looking all over for you."

"And why is Bella looking for me?" Piotr asked. He had never fully interacted with Bella but he knew he would help her when she needed it. She was, after all, Alyce's younger cousin. Besides, caring was Piotr's weak spot. Bella reminded him too much of his younger sister, who was still back in Russia.

"I am looking for the great Piotr because I need assistance in a top secret mission!" Bella laughed, feeling stupid. She leaned back a bit when Piotr leaned in toward her. Was he trying to kiss her?

"You.......smell like Yogurt." Piotr mumbled, leaning back and giving Bella the once over. "I can only guess it had something to do with John?"

"Yea, the jerk....how did you know?"

Piotr laughed. "You two...always fighting. It's not surprising. So how can I help?"

Bella looked around the garden, making sure Alyce wasn't around or Remy. Both of them liked the garden as much as Piotr and if they walked in then Bella's hard work would go up in flames. She huddled close to Piotr, who seemed to be a bit uncomfortable at the distance they were with each other. Bella just liked to think he was a shy little thing (clearly an understatement). She cupped her hand over his ear and began whispering her diabolical plot. When she was done telling him his part, he smiled.

"So...you're in?" Bella asked, giving him a small hug before he could agree. Piotr patted her shoulder and picked up his sketch book.

"I'm in." He responded, which caused Bella to squeal in delight and give him another, bigger, hug. Piotr knew exactly how he was going to design the art work. This was going to be the ultimate art challenge between Alyce and him.

And he was sure that he was going to win it this time.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**: Looper

Alyce heard the shower as soon as she walked into her room. She only figured out it was John, and not Bella, the hard way.

It started off like any other night. Alyce would come into her room, open the window for some fresh air and gather clothes to take a shower. Usually Bella had beat Alyce to the shower (and most of the hot weather with it). Alyce would knock and the two would have a small chat until Bella finished and Alyce could get in. But not this time.....

Alyce had knocked on the door, no answer but she knew Bella wouldn't mind if she came in anyway. It was when she walked in, and found out that John doesn't like to close the curtains is when it got bad. Alyce wasn't saying that she was shocked at his naked body, she really wasn't. She just wasn't expecting him to be in her shower. Let alone using pink shampoo and body wash. When he noticed her, he let out a surprised yelp, sending Alyce jumping and slipping on the wet tiled floor. Out of habit, John scrunched the curtains towards his lower parts.

"You scared the shit out of me, Alyce." John sputtered, pink soap dripping from his hair down to his mouth. He wiped at his eyes and squinted. He hesitated as to whether he should get out of the shower to help her off the floor. "Want me to come help you?" He asked, knowing he was being a little devil.

"I'm fine...next time...close the curtains." Alyce moaned as she got up from the floor and leaned on the sink for support.

"What? Doth thee not like what thy see?" John chuckled, waiting for Alyce to respond. He noticed her cheeks getting red and she laughed.

"So next time I won't slip on the floor maybe?" She rubbed the back of her head were it hit the wall and gave John a funny look. "Or you know, I'd sacrifice my health just to hear you yelp like a little girl." Alyce mocked John as he stood in the shower, placing her hands over her lower body and putting on a funny face. She laughed as John flicked water at her from the shower and closed the curtains.

"What's the miracle you're not asking me in? Are you embarrassed that you scream in a A-Major chord?" Alyce poked her head through the curtains, careful not to look down but to catch John's eyes and keep locked.

"It's A-Minor, actually and you can fuck off." John continued to wash the soap out of his hair and once he did turned back to look at Alyce. "I'll get you back sooner or later..." He grinned. John knew he was going to get her back when her birthday came around. It was taking all the power in him not to just bother her with what Bella was planning.

"Sure you will. What were you doing in my shower anyway? I don't mind, just curious." Alyce popped her head out of the shower and quietly began to undress as John finished washing himself off. It was a no brainer they were going to get caught as soon as Alyce would step in, but it was fun trying.

"Your fucking dip shit of a cousin popped a cup of yogurt in my face."

Alyce tried to hold back her laughter but it ended up coming out in a snort. She was done to her underwear when a loud knock on the door made her jump. Almost immediately John hopped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. The two shared a look.

"_Sneaky_..." John's face read, giving Alyce the once over and pulling her close to him. If it was one of the teachers at the door he didn't need any of them coping a look at his girl's goods.

The door began to open, and a head popped in.

"Oh....sorry for interrupting...." Bella's voice laughed, looking at the two's scared faces. "You guys look like you got raped or something. All wide eyed." She opened her eyes up for emphasis and stuck her tongue out at John.

John growled and pushed the door closed, Bella nearly managing to get out in time. She pounded at the door. John had almost chopped off her head.

"JOHN! I'm going to kill you!" Bella yelled in anger. John however, knew one perfect way to get the girl out of his hair. He leaned on the door and gathered Alyce in his arms.

"Alyce...there's something I need to tell you...." He began to talk, making sure Bella could hear every word. Like magic her yelling and kicking stopped and she walked away from the door. He listened for her for a few more minutes and smiled at Alyce. He placed a small kiss on her lips and walked toward the shower, still holding onto Alyce.

"What do you need to tell me?" Alyce laughed, stepping into the shower.

"I don't need to tell you, I can show you..."

*

*

Bella sat down on the bed and huffed. John had better enjoy the upper hand while he was still going to have it. Alyce loved her cousin, but right now she was just begging for one of the teachers to walk in and get John in trouble. Tomorrow was when the plan was going to really be set into motion. Six days left, and Bella needed to go shopping. She knew exactly who she was going to bring with her and it wasn't going to be John. Bella began to smile as she heard the door to the room open and Logan walking in.

"Bathroom." Bella laughed, watching as Logan rolled his eyes and ran his hand over his face. "Logan, protector of virginity!" Bella hooted. She curled over in laughters as Logan walked up to her and patted her head with a bit of strength.

Logan sighed and walked over to the bathroom door. Once again he began questioning himself. Why was it always him that the Professor sent to do these types of things? Sure he looked scary, but stopping teens from doing the deed wasn't his forte. They were growing up, they had to do it sometime...

"_You're thinking too much about it."_ Logan thought to himself, and he quickly sent three loud knocks on the bathroom door. A ruffle of curtains were heard and a loud bang was heard. Logan was _not_ going to open the door.

"They probably fell." Bella snickered.

"Whatever...." Logan shuddered and walked away from the door. The two of them had their warning and he was sure they would stop whatever it was they were doing. Before leaving the room, Logan stopped and shot Bella a look. "I better not ever have to do this shit for you, kid."

Bella raised her hand in the air, placing the other over her heart. "I'm the good one remember? I promise." She smiled a big smile, making Logan give her a weird look. Bella waited for Logan to leave the room and watched as Alyce and John stumbled out of the bathroom.

Logan would never catch Bella....not when her boyfriend was one of the fastest on earth.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**: Long Way To Go

The next morning was confirmed to be a shopping morning. What guys would do for their girlfriends, it was unbelievable. Pietro wasn't exactly thrilled with being pulled around the Westchester Mall, especially when Bella never had any good stories to tell of her times there. While Bella shopped around for balloons and little tidbits he was going to the jewelry store and repair his Fossil watch. It had cost him a lot of money and Wanda just decided to break it. He was going to kill her one day...his sister, of course, not Bella. At least he wouldn't be waisting his day, entirely.

Bella hopped into her boyfriends car with excitement, enough for the both of them. She kissed him on the cheek and strapped herself in. She pulled out a small list from her purse and began reading them off to Pietro. He pretended to listen the best that he could but in all honesty it was just too early. Nine in the morning to early. He rolled down the windows, hoping the cool wind would whip him awake. It didn't even help.

"....oh but we can't get that colour. It won't match with the stripes on the table cloths. What do you think about Blue?" Bella looked over to her boyfriend, awaiting his answer.

"Blue is fine, babe." Pietro smiled. He focused his eyes back on the road. "So Alyce really doesn't know anything?" He yawned and wiped his eyes, readjusting himself in his seat. He had to wake himself up. He loved his girlfriend, so spending time with her wherever she wanted to go was something he had to do. He shook his head gently and let out another yawn.

"No idea! Isn't that cool! I can't wait to see the look on her face when she sees everything put together. Uncle James is bringing old family videos." Bella checked her make up in the mirror and took out a slender stick of lip gloss from her purse.

Pietro glanced over at Bella, smiling. She finally seemed calm again. After everything that had happened, happened to her, it was good to see that Bella didn't let it get to her. Or did it? She hadn't spoken to him on how she felt, or anything since Emma left. Pietro let out another yawn and changed what he was thinking about. If she was happy that was the only thing that should matter. "So I get to see the great Bella Garland as a snot nosed kid?"

Bella chuckled and leaned over to give Pietro another kiss on his cheek. She chuckled once more upon seeing her lip stick mark on his cheek. She wiped it off gently. "A cute snot nosed kid. You know you're going to love it."

"Never said I wasn't going to. Maybe I just might show you some of my old baby pictures."

*

*

After Bella finally stopped talking about Pietro's baby pictures was when the real shopping began. How he had managed to get away from Bella as she did her thing was a miracle. At least to him. Jingling his broken Fossil watch in his hands, Pietro made his way across the mall toward the repair shop. He felt uneasy about leaving Bella on her own, but what's the worse that could happen? Especially with her in a party shop. If anything did happen (which he hope didn't) it wasn't like he couldn't get back to her fast enough.

Upon entering the small watch shop, the first thing Pietro noticed was the man dressed in all black. The only person in the store other than him and the clerk behind the counter. Guys dressed in black all the time. Some of them needed their watches fixed, there was no reason for him to get jumpy about it. Not paying any mind, Pietro walked up to the front counter and did his little transaction. But something in the back of Pietro's mind was saying other wise about the man in black.

"Well, it looks like you're in luck Mister Maximoff!" The clerk came back to the front counter, smiling and holding up his watch with her delicate hands. She fixed her hair and tied it back in a ponytail. She held up the watch, pointing at it with a smile.

"We do have the exact same ticker, so it'll look as good as new." The clerk smiled once more, batting her eye lashes like no tomorrow.

Pietro chuckled softly and rested his elbows on the counter. "That's good to hear. How much and when can I pick it up?" Pietro had to remind himself that Bella was his girlfriend. But if he could use his good lucks and charms to get a discount then it was worth it. He was sure Bella would do the same thing. He ran a hand through his stark white hair and gave the woman a wink. She giggled.

"Y-you can pick it up in another hour. It's usually fifty for repair, especially on watches like this, but for you, twenty."

Score. Pietro loved being who he was. You would think his powers were that of persuasion. "Why thank you----?" He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to say her name.

"Molly-Grace." She laughed. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you."

"I appreciate that, Molly-Grace. Lovely name, by the way."

The girl smiled once more and turned on her heel, disappearing in the back with Pietro's watch in hand. He was ready to leave the tiny shop, when a cane was held out in front of him. He stopped mid step, looking to the side. His eyes met that of the man dressed in black. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Pietro decided to break the silence.

"Waiting for a watch?" Pietro asked. He had to be if he was in a watch shop. Pietro's emerald green eyes lurked over the man for a few minutes, before he spotted a chain coming out of his breast pocket. The man noticed and laughed, patting his chest.

"A pocket watch, yes. Yours was....very intriguing. May I ask what happened to it?"

A pocket watch? He didn't look so old, but the way he dressed screamed old fashioned. "My sister broke it." Pietro smiled, scratching the back of his neck. "What happened to yours?"

"Funny thing it was. A very lovely woman gave it to me, she left to go teach and I gave it to her for good luck. Turns out something bad happened, she had gotten attacked by a group of people and the watch was smashed."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope she's ok." Pietro moved to the side as the man got up from his seat and made his way toward the counter. His cane, used more for show than for actual use. The clerk came back front, holding a solid gold pocket watch.

"Here you go Mister Shaw."

"Ah, thank you my dear." Mr. Shaw looked at the watch and opened it, smiling. "Here, look, the engraving in the back." He held it out for Pietro and awkwardly he took it. Pietro turned the watch around and looked at it. Almost immediately his blood ran cold.

"To my dearest Sebastian Shaw. Love, Emma.....Frost." Swallowing back the lump in his throat, Pietro smiled and gave the watch back to the man. "It looks as good as new."

Shaw linked the pocket watch to his chain and placed it in his breast pocket. "It does, doesn't it." He began walked out of the store, but before he completely left he placed a hand on Pietro's shoulder. "She says Hello." Shaw whispered into Pietro's ear, giving him a final pat on the shoulder before he left.

*

*

As soon as Shaw had left the store, before the door even closed, Pietro had zoomed out making his way toward Bella. Was she in trouble? Was she ok? Did someone take her while he had left to the watch shop. Did someone follow them? A million questions raced through his mind as he stopped to a halt in front of the party store. Everything was still pretty empty and an eerie silence slept in the mall. Quickly, Pietro walked into the store, looking through the aisles for a blonde head.

"Oh no!" Came an all to familiar voice. Pietro set himself into action, zooming down the aisles, not caring about the falling shelves or flying papers and decorations. He stopped, looking right at a surprised Bella. In her hands, a set of plastic plates and in the other plastic cups. Her hair flew in all directions as the wind from Pietro's speed slapped against her.

"If I knew you were so eager to help, I'd have sent you to go get stuff." Bella smiled, completely oblivious to Pietro's worried face, or the mess that was now settling on the floor from the air. She looked at the sets in her hands and sighed. "Blue or Light Blue?"

Pietro rolled his eyes. Quickly, he gathered a bunch of items and pushed them into a nearby basket. He grabbed Bella by her waist and lifted her up over his shoulder, ignoring her protests. Upon hearing the manager of the store blaring, Pietro dashed out the store. He plopped Bella in the parking lot and zoomed back to the watch shop, nabbing the watch out of the clerk's hands and back to Bella.

"What was that for?!" Bella yelled, fixing her hair and shirt. She motioned for Pietro to open the trunk and he did so when he sat down at the wheel. Once she got into the car she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. A part of her knew that Pietro wouldn't do that without a good reason, she knew her boyfriend like the back of her hand. She was more annoyed at the fact that the cups didn't match the plates.

"There was a man in the watch shop....I don't know, but he knew Emma Frost. He knew who I was, me!" Pietro emphasized his frustration with his hands. "Bella if he knew me, he _had_ to know you. I had to get you out of there. I swear that mall is cursed!"

"Calm down. I'm fine, we're fine. What guy?" Bella asked. She was trying her best to remain calm but deep down the mere mention of Emma's name made her blood run cold. She could feel her heart beating in her chest and she wrapped her hand in Pietro's for comfort.

"A guy named Sebastian Shaw. He was getting his watch fixed. Something about how he gave it to Emma before she came to the Mansion and when she got back to him the watch was smashed..."

"I guess that's from when Charlie, Ray and Alyce gave her the one-up."

Pietro nodded. "I guess so. Has to be. Then he put his hand on my shoulder and told me that Emma says hi....."

"But...but, that can't be! Jean wiped her mind, didn't she?" Bella was confused. She just didn't understand how this was possible. Emma was supposed to have her mind completely wiped of her Mansion experience. How would she know about Pietro still?

Pietro could see the fear in his girlfriend's face and it made his blood boil. It was something he never wanted to see. He gripped hard at the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition. He roared the engine. "Apparently not. I think I need to have a _talk_ with Miss Jean Grey..."

*

*

Alyce spotted her cousin with her ear to a door. It was a funny sight to behold. Every time Bella lost the pair of voices talking, she would run her head along the length of the door, going up and down, side to side, until she heard something again. Alyce chuckled quietly, holding back her chuckles with a hand to her mouth. All Bella needed to complete her faux spying was a cup to put her ear on.

Tip toeing, Alyce made her way toward her nosey cousin. She was only inches away when she let out a loud huff, causing Bella to yelp and jump back from the door.

"Being nosey?" Alyce laughed with a muffle. She flinched as Bella playfully punched her on the arm.

"You're like a freakin' ninja, I swear." Bella rolled her eyes and grabbed Alyce by her hand, guiding her around the corner and away from the door. She wasn't going to risk getting caught. She still wanted to know what Jean was telling Pietro. Even though Bella knew Pietro was a good guy, the lot of the adults in the Mansion didn't fully trust the Brotherhood. They better trust them quick, because Bella was still going to invite them to Alyce's party.

Once the pair got away from the door, Bella decided to ask something she knew Alyce wasn't going to agree on. But it was trying that counted. "Alyce---"

"No. Bella, you make it like I don't know what you're going to ask."

"So if you know then why not just do it for me?! For me, Alyce. Your best cousin in the the world." Bella pouted and threw herself into Alyce's arms. Alyce would have to give in once she knew what it was about. Bella pulled apart from Alyce. "Pietro ran into someone who knew about Emma."

Alyce rolled her eyes. "Bella, that woman is long gone. Why do you even have to bring it up?"

"Because Pietro thinks Jean didn't wipe her mind like she said she did."

"You're kidding me here, Bella. There is no way the Professor didn't tell Jean otherwise."

Bella bit her lip and sighed. Even though Alyce was acting extremely nonchalant about the entire situation, she knew Alyce cared about it. The thing about Alyce was that she was always confident that she could take care of things. It was very admirable, but she couldn't grasp that sometimes things were out of her league. Things with a name like Emma Frost.

"Bella--" Alyce murmured, holding onto her cousin's arms. "Don't worry. Pietro, John, Remy, Rogue... everyone is here to protect you."

"And who's going to protect you?" Bella asked, watching as Alyce's face grew confused. She never thought about her own safely, always someone else's before her own. Alyce had to know that everyone worried for her, she had too. Alyce smiled and let out a small laugh. She cupped her hands together and formed a small cup and plopped it in Bella's hands. She motioned back to the door and Bella sighed.

"I protect myself, Bella." Alyce responded, patting Bella on her shoulder and giving her a reassuring look.

"Someone is going to have to protect you sooner or later. You can't handle everything, Alyce." Bella didn't like sounding harsh to Alyce, but she needed to make her see how things really were. Bella watched as her cousin began to walk down the hall, spinning on her heel and facing her one last time.

"You'd be surprised at how much I can handle, Bella."

___

A/N: This would've been posted two days ago, but FF was being......"uncooperative".


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**: The Swan and the Minotaur

Bella was at a loss for words. She had known that Piotr had a knack for the arts, but what she was seeing was more than a knack. Simply beautiful, the designs that laced the corners of the massive banners. The colours popped nicely but at the same time didn't come off as too girly. A lovely array of blues and blacks, greens and lavenders. Bella smiled and ran her hand along the paper as Piotr placed it on the desk for her to see. There was not one inch of the paper that wasn't left white.

"I take it that you like it?" Piotr asked, dragging another table to put the rest of the banner on top of. He smiled and wiped the paint from his hands on his shirt.

"More than like it, Piotr. I love it!" Bella beamed. She threw herself into Piotr's arms and gave him a massive hug. He chuckled at how strong she was. "Alyce is going to love this."

"I have others already done." Piotr pointed across the art room over to a table. "I have two of my twin friends helping me put borders around them."

Bella looked over to were he pointed and noticed two girls cutting black border paper. They looked like exact opposites, one of them dressed in all black and the other in all white. Almost like a ying and yang. "Thanks for helping!" Bella called over to the girls. They looked up at the same time, both smiling and waving.

"You're welcome!" They both spoke and got back to cutting their black paper. Bella turned back to Piotr and placed her hands on her hips. "How much do I owe you?" She asked, all seriousness in her face. It took a moment for Piotr to realize that she was being serious. When he finally caught on that she wasn't joking, he began to laugh.

"You must be kidding, little one. I'm doing all of this because I want to. Alyce is as much my family as she is yours. Besides, the look on her face when she hears that I did the banners are enough payment. When is the party again?"

"T minus three days. I'm nervous." Bella sighed and sat down in a chair that Piotr pulled out for her. She rested her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes. "I'm still pretty amazed she hasn't found out yet."

Piotr sat down next to her, pulling up another sheet of blank paper and laying it out in front of him. He reached over to the chair on the other side of him and began opening small tubs of paint. "She hasn't found out because you're doing a good job at keeping her distracted."

Bella let out a tired chuckle and looked over at Piotr. "Not me, I need to thank John for that."

"But of course!" Piotr laughed, dipping a stiff paint brush in water then into the dark paint. "He's good for something other than trouble."

Bella let out a yawn and rested her head on the table, her eyes following the strokes of Piotr's paint brush. "I don't remember the last time I slept a full night." She half joked. It was true. She had always been going to bed late and rising early, just to get the things she needed done, done. After coming home from the mall she had spoken to the Professor about the party. It had been settled that she could decorate the ballroom that was located on the third floor of the Mansion. She never knew there had even been a ballroom. But it was there and it was _massive_.

Piotr slapped his brush in another colour of paint and went to work on the paper once more. "You should get some sleep. You need to be wide awake to get the full effect of the party." He popped open another colour and began mixing it with another.

"But there's so much to do!" Bella groaned, raising her hands up in the air and plopping them on her head. She received a funny stare from Piotr and she laughed, tying her hair back into a ponytail. "There is no rest for me until everything is done and accounted for."

"I can tell you really care for her."

"I do! I've grown up with her. Uncle James is going to bring family videos, so you can see how we used to act when we were younger."

"That sounds most exciting, little one. It'll be something else to see Alyce blush with embarrassment."

"That reminds me!" Bella shot up from her seat, nearly tripping over own feet. Piotr caught her with his free hand, his other hand still painting designs on the paper in front of him. "I have to call Uncle James."

Piotr let go of Bella and patted her arm. He gave her a weary look. "If you're going to call, make sure you don't fall on your way to the phones."

"I won't. Promise." Bella reassured her Russian friend and gave him one more hug before running out of the art room. Her next stop were the phone booths located near the foyer of the Mansion. Hopefully, there weren't tons of kids waiting for the phones. She was going to be on for a long time.

*

*

Bella had checked the time over and over again. Ever since Alyce told her that James and Lilia liked to get busy around the time of four, Bella made sure to _never_ call at that time. But right now it wasn't four 'o clock and it wasn't four thirty. They were always home, and even if they weren't it wasn't like Lilia didn't know someone was calling the house. Bella hung up the phone and immediately picked it up once more. She dialed the number and held the phone with her shoulder. If they didn't pick up now, Bella had _every_ reason to worry.

"Hello?"

"My _God_. Finally! What were you doing?" Bella asked to her Uncle. He sighed and mumbled something away from the receiver.

"I was helping Lilia.....do some _stuff_." A paused was heard. "Stuff, Bella. Stuff. What's up, kiddo?" On the other line, James was secretly thanking that Bella didn't catch on to innuendo as quick as her cousin did.

"Uncle...you should know what's up. What's happening in three days?"

"My kid's birthday. You think I forgot, c'mon now."

Bella sighed with annoyance. "I didn't think you forgot. But you should know what I'm going to be doing. Do I have to point everything out to you?"

"You better watch that tone, young lady. I'll hurt you. Besides, I already know what you're planning thanks to Lilia. I'll be there early morning on her birthday to help set up the Ballroom. Did you really think you'd have to call me for that?"

"I was just making sure. Geez. And we both know that I can lay a mean hurt down on you." Bella joked, already laughing.

"Oh no~ Forgive me Warrior Bella. Forgive me!" James chuckled, his laugh heard from the booth. "Don't worry. What's the miracle Alyce hasn't caught on this year?"

"John is actually helping out and being helpful. All the other stuff for Alyce's birthday is being taken care of."

"That's good to hear, Bellz. I'm proud of you. Family videos and embarrassing moments, ahoy! I'll talk to you later."

"Alright Uncle. Bye!" Bella hung up with a sigh of relief. It was a miracle that everything was going as planned. Last year, Alyce had found out due to James making fun of Bella about her planning. It was still a fun party. But still, the element of surprise was completely ruined. She just hoped John wouldn't be an asshole and mention anything. Bella leaned on the wall of the booth. Now she could take a shower and relax for the rest of the day. Call Pietro and talk to him, and invite the rest of the Brotherhood. Yea...she was going to do just that. She was ready to get out of the booth when another person crammed in, blocking her exit. She bumped her head on the person's chest and plopped back into her seat.

"Remy....is...._hurt._"

"Wha—What?" Bella looked up, her eyes meeting Remy's sad red on blacks. He pouted and knelt down on one knee, holding Bella by her hands. Uh oh.

"Why is Remy the last to know about these things? Now Remy has to think on what to buy for _mon cheri._"

Bella bit her lip. Ok, _now_ she felt bad about not including Remy. But it was for the party's own good. "I didn't tell you because....because....." Bella looked away from Remy, his face was just too sad. "...I was going to give you the most important part!"

Remy laughed and got up from where he knelt, sitting next to Bella in the small booth and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Remy thinks it's very cute when you lie. It's alright, Remy knows he can be a big mouth at times."

"Awwww CMON!" Bella groaned and hugged Remy. "I'm really sorry, Remy. Please don't be mad!"

Remy let out a hearty chuckle and poker his finger gently on Bella's nose. "Remy can never get mad at _mon petite._ That's a fact. Remy knows this is a tip top secret mission. He will _not_ tell a soul." He crossed his fingers in the air. "But if Bella wants Remy to be hush-hush she has to do something for him."

"_Of course._" Bella thought. There was no way that Remy would let this go with out something happening for his benefit. "What do I have to do?" Bella smiled, watching as Remy grew flushed and giddy.

"All Remy wants to keep quiet is _un petit _kiss." Remy tapped his cheek with his hand, giving Bella a playful smile.

"Nuh-uh. I don't want Rogue slapping me."

"_Mon cheri!_ She would never hurt a fly. Besides she knows Remy loves Bella like a sister. Now...kiss?" He leaned in close to Bella, his face lighting up like a kid at Christmas. Bella sighed, hiding her giggles. She leaned forward, catching the scent of what smelled like Hazelnut in his hair, and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

"Was that so bad?" Remy asked, plastering a big kiss on Bella's cheek. "Now, what can Remy do?" He got up from the booth and held out his hand for Bella. She took it and gave him a sheepish look. If Remy was going to help she knew the perfect thing for him to do. Bella had never seen Remy interact with Pietro on any sort of level. She had seen them say hi to each other a few times, but that was nothing more than courtesy. It was time the two boys had a nice chat. Before, she had originally planned to call Pietro and invite the rest of the Brotherhood.

But wouldn't it be even more fun it Remy did it?

____

A/N: lol, everything is more fun if Remy does it.


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**: Classic Home

It didn't bother Remy at all that he was crossing into enemy territory. He was doing it to help Bella and that was all that mattered. He just needed to get inside the house, have a talk with Pietro and he could come back home. While he was driving there, Remy couldn't stop thinking about one thing. Blob. Remy was going to admit to himself that he was very scared of that giant man. He had every reason too. It was Blob who had given him a very unexpected beating a few months back. Ever since then, Remy never underestimated someone based on their size.

Remy turned the wheel to his car and parked in front of the depleted house. He got out of the car and closed the door quietly, giving the house a once over like he would a person. How exactly _did_ Alyce live here? It was a good thing she came back to the Mansion. Remy made his way to the porch, stepping over beer bottles and plastic plates. He could hear a TV in the ground level, some pots banging together in the kitchen and the sound of classical music in one of the upper bed rooms. He was about ready to knock on the door, when the sound of someone behind him made him spin around.

"Well well. Look who it is."

Remy smiled, he knew this face all to well. Dominikos. The two of them had their chats, usually about girls. Avalanche had even asked Remy for his advice on getting Kitty a present. They were on mutually good terms.

"_Bonsoir_, _mon ami_." Remy stuck out his hand and the two shook hands.

"Man, you know I don't know any of that French love talk." Avalanche rolled his eyes and took out a small cloth from his back pocket. He wiped his other hand, the car oil coming off. "English?"

"Good Evening, was what Remy said. Working on something?" Remy asked, looking at Avalanche's oil slicked hand.

"Yea, my bike in the garage. So what do I owe this pleasure?" Avalanche was curious to know. The only person to come to this house regularly was Alyce. And occasionally Bella, but it wasn't like anyone really saw her face. Pietro would zoom up to his room with her as quick as a bee. Avalanche leaned on one of support beams to the house and waited for Remy to answer.

"Remy comes in peace. Bella sent me to invite everyone to Alyce's surprise birthday party."

"Whoa, Alyce actually has a birthday? Sounds good. I'm game. But you're going to have to talk to everyone else about that." The uneasy look that flew on Remy's face almost made Avalanche laugh. "What's wrong, bro?"

"Remy was wondering if you could ask....._le grand gars_ to come. Remy doesn't want to bother him." The Cajun gulped, hoping Avalanche would agree to help him.

"English, man. English."

"Oh, the big one. Blob."

"Frederick?!" Avalanche boomed into laughter, shaking his head from side to side. "You got nothing to worry about. Stop being such a pansy."

Suddenly, the window next to the door opened. Remy jumped to the side, not expecting a head to pop out. A female with short black hair and red lipstick smiled at him, then looked at Avalanche with a scowl. "You're not going to invite our guest in, Dominikos? Bad fucking manners."

"Why don't you shut the fuck up, Wanda." Avalanche shot back, opening the screen door to the house and stepping in. He walked back outside and gave Remy a bland look. "That means come in, you know." He added, and Remy nodded.

"Sooooo!" Wanda cooed as she immediately dragged Remy into the kitchen and plopped him down at the kitchen table. "You're an X-Man...what brings you to the Brotherhood? Are 'ya tired of Ye Ole Wheels?"

Remy blinked once, then twice, still not sure of what was going on. He had heard of this girl before, Alyce spoke of her at rare times. But he just couldn't place exactly who she was. Wanda....Wanda.....Pietro's sister? Had to be. They both had that crazed look in their eye.

"Actually, Remy is here to invite you to Alyce's surprise birthday party---"

"Little Alyce?! Oh, I miss that little bitch!" Wanda beamed, stirring something in a giant pot. "I am _so_ accepting your invite. And I know the perfect thing to get her!" Wanda made her way over to Remy and plopped herself into his lap, wrapping her arms over his neck. "I think I love you already!"

Awkwardly, Remy hugged Wanda back, patting her back. He smiled and tried not to look down. Wanda had on the the most tightest, cleavage revealing corset. She smelled really good too, and every time she moved in his lap, he could hear her chains clunking together. She looked up at him, her face inches away from his.

"I can tell how you're acting that you're a taken man. It's a shame. You really are cute." Wanda smiled and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for inviting me...not like I wouldn't have showed up sooner or later." She got up from his lap, chuckling at the nervous look on Remy's face. "Oh lighten up. Are you staying for dinner?" Wanda asked, going back to her pot and sticking a ladle into it.

"Yo, bro say no." Toad hopped in. Almost immediately Wanda scooped up whatever was in the pot and sent it flying toward Toad. He hopped out of the way and landed a few feet away from Remy. "Hurry up and invite me so I can book it." Toad ushered toward Remy, who was still thinking he was in the twilight zone.

"Uhhh do you want to co----"

"Yea, yea, yo." Toad quickly agreed while he dodged another spoonful of red goop. He was ready to leave the kitchen when a big splat of the red substance hit the back of his head.

"You better take a fucking shower!" Wanda yelled, aiming another spoonful. "It's a special occasion!"

"Hey! I showered for Christmas!" Toad retorted, his feelings hurt. He just liked having his body doing it's thing, it shouldn't have to be interrupted by water and soap. Besides, he thought he smelled good.

"That was _last_ year!" Wanda growled. She looked back toward Remy and quickly scavenged around the cupboards for a plate. She plopped one near Remy and slapped a generous amount of the mystery meat on his plate. She then whisked off, ladle in hand, after Toad.

Remy had the courage to let off a small chuckle. Everyone in this house was too funny. He looked at the....mass on his plate with a curious look. It would be rude of him to at least not try one spoonful. He got up from the table and looked around for a clean spoon, sitting back down at his chair and sticking his spoon into the mystery mass. A giant bubble popped out from where he stuck his spoon, and that was that. There was no _way_ he was going to put _that_ in his mouth.

"It's more dangerous than it looks, Rems."

Remy looked up toward the entrance of the kitchen. He watched as Pietro made his way to the fridge and sighed upon seeing nothing. "You know, I miss when Alyce used to live here. Everything was much more......stomach friendly. And yes, I know what you're here for. Bella told me on the phone."

"Well, that's good. Remy doesn't need to explain. Remy was wondering if you could help him with something."

"Sure, what do you need?" Pietro scratched his head and looked into the pot on the stove. He gagged and went back to fishing inside the fridge for something edible. He found a chunk of cheddar cheese, still days from it's dead line, and decided to snack on that. While he waited for Remy to muster up his words, he sat at the table and cut off a piece for the Cajun, taking his plate and throwing it into the sink.

Remy bit into the cheese and chewed it, giving Pietro a thankful look. "Remy knows you remember the fight in the city."

"I do. Gave John the beating of his life. He deserved it. And Blob did his little number on you." Pietro felt bad bringing it up but what had happened, happened. Whether they liked it or not, it couldn't be changed.

Remy gave a nervous chuckle. "Exactly. Remy was thinking Pietro could ask Blob if he wants to come to the party."

"You're a strong guy, Rems. Go ask him---"

"Remy is _begging_ you. Remy doesn't want to go back to the Mansion and hear Bella's mouth."

"Look, Remy. Frederick has a big body but his brain is about---" Pietro held up his hand and brought his index finger and thumb together. "----this big. He's long forgotten anything that has happened between you and him. He's in the living room." Pietro pointed to another door way.

"Remy understands that, but he doesn't think Blob would forget that."

Pietro sighed and finished off his chunk of cheese. "I swear to you Remy. Nothing is going to happen. Besides, he's watching re-runs of Wheel of Fortune. He's in a good mood." Before Remy could protest, Pietro got up from his seat and pulled Remy out of his. He pushed the worried Cajun into the living room, dodging Wanda and Toad, and gave Frederick a big pat on his back.

"Hey Big Man, someone's here to see you." Pietro spoke, motioning to Remy to stop being such a scaredy cat. Blob looked back, not caring about Remy.

"Alyce? Where is Alyce?" Blob spoke, looking up at Pietro with a sad look on his face.

"Not Alyce, Fred. But something about her." He pointed toward Remy and Blob waited for him to talk. Fred began to grow impatient, his show coming back on T.V.

"Uhuhuh....uh......_Bonjour_....." Remy sputtered. He waved at Fred, but received a bland stare. Fred turned back around and continued to watch his show, smiling as someone spun a huge wheel on set.

Pietro shot Remy a '_you owe me'_ look and once again patted Fred on his back. "What he was trying to say, Fred, was that Alyce is having a surprise birthday party. And Remy wants to invite you."

"Alyce!" Fred spoke, _very_ happy upon hearing Alyce's name once more. "We go now? Blob wants to go." He was already trying to get up off the couch, but Pietro calmed him down.

"It's in a couple days, Fred. Tomorrow we can go out and buy her something nice. Ok?" Pietro gave Blob another reassuring pat on the back. Blob smiled and turned his attention back to the television.

"I told you so." Pietro mumbled toward Remy, making his way up a set of stairs and disappearing.

Remy ran his hand over his face and slowly took a step out of the living room. He had decided to just run out of the house, upon hearing Blob boom with laughter at what he was watching. Remy ran to his car and threw himself in the drivers seat, turning the key in the ignition. Bella owed him big time for this. On the up side, he never knew he could back out of a parkway so fast. That was always good to know.

*

*

John was finding out that he could play Hide 'n Seek pretty darn well. He had made a mad dash for the garage as soon as he heard Bella let out a death defying scream. No doubt it was because of the bright green hair dye he had poured into her shampoo bottles. It wasn't even permanent, but she would be walking around for a few hours with green hair. She had it coming, though, in his defense.

So here he was, John Allerdyce, hiding behind a couple of parked cars. It was well worth it, hiding behind the mud trekked wheels and leaky oil valves. His ears perked up upon hearing the garage door open, and he carefully got up to see who was coming in.

He breathed a sigh of instant relief when he saw Remy get out of the car. Remy turned around and the two locked eyes. Silence. Awkwardness.

"So...uh.....'sup." John spoke, breaking the weird silence between the two.

Remy blinked, closing the door to the car and placing the keys in a draw. "Remy is fine, but he doesn't think the same for _le feu._"

John chuckled lightly, running his hand through his hair and resting on the car in front of him. "Guys hang out in garages all the time..."

"Not by themselves." Remy countered, throwing John a smug look. "If Remy had to make a guess, it would be cause _le feu_ did something to _mon petitie._"

"If by 'mon peh-teet' you mean Bella, then of course. I just got her back for getting yogurt in my hair."

Remy laughed, rolling his eyes. He took off his jacket and carried it in his arms. "Remy thinks you two act like little children."

"Yea, well, it's good to be in touch with your childish side. Ain't that right, LeBeau?" John watched as Remy shrugged his shoulders and made his way toward the staircase. He knew all to well how the two of them acted. He just didn't understand how they were able to be friends afterward. They probably had to make up, especially when Alyce was around.

Remy smiled and turned around on the steps, looking at John with a thoughtful look. "John is right. And don't worry, Remy won't tell Bella that he's seen you down here---hiding like a like scared rat."

"Hey!" John called out to Remy as he walked up the steps. "You'd be scared too if you've seen her claws!"


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**: Pink Flower

Alyce had woken up to all sorts of things. Bella talking to herself, Bella singing, Bella eating, Bella _trying_ to play guitar. You name it, anything involving Bella, Alyce had woken up to it. But this time it was something new.

Bella cheer leading.

And what a sight it was.

At first, Alyce thought the radio must've been turned on. She had groggily slapped her hand on the night table and fished around for the radio, only to find out that it was actually off. The cheers had stopped and Alyce, still being in her sleepy like state, rolled right back over and continued to sleep. She hadn't been in dream land for five minutes when another set of cheers woke her up. That's when she dug her body out of her comfy blankets and peered out about her room. There, in front of the vanity was Bella. Bella complete with a semi looking cheer leader out fit.

Alyce bit back laughter as she sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep away from her eyes. While it was nice, indeed, to see her cousin happy, it was just too funny. After hearing enough of '_give me an A_' cheers, Alyce finally decided to speak up.

"Are you cheering?" Alyce spoke, her voice still muffled by sleep.

Startled, Bella immediately stopped and plopped herself down on the vanity chair. "I wasn't doing anything." Bella lied, her cheeks flushed red. Her fingers fiddled with the ends of her skirt, trying to pull them past her thighs. As much as she liked wearing short skirts it was either John or Alyce who marched her right back upstairs and told her to change. John saying she looked like a hooker (Bella was sure that was the nicest thing he could say toward her well being) and Alyce, simply, just shaking her head from side to side.

"Bella--" Alyce chuckled. "--you were _so_ cheering."

"So?" Bella retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm allowed to do the things I like to do. I cheered at my old High School. You know that."

"I'm not saying I didn't. I just never saw you cheer before." Alyce picked up her arms and shook her head from side to side. "Give me an A! Give me a B!" She mocked her cousin with a playful smile on her face.

"Don't be mad because you can't cheer." Bella stuck out her tongue and started fixing her hair in the mirror.

"Not mad at all. That's a talent I'd rather not have." Alyce got up from her bed and fixed the sheets. "If you want to cheer you know the Mansion has a squad."

Bella's ears perked up. That had to be the second tidbit of unknown information about the Mansion. First being the gigantic ballroom. "I'm fine really. It's just something I like to do for fun, not as a contest. Not anymore."

"Suit yourself." Alyce grumbled as she walked into the bathroom to take a shower and brush her teeth.

Bella finished up fixing her hair and opened the door to the bathroom. If there was any a time that she could get away with dressing like this, it would be now. "Hey....Alyce."

"Yea?" Her voice called out from behind the shower curtains.

"I'm going to head out. I had plans with Pie." She wasn't lying either. He had offered to help string up decorations in the ballroom. With as fast as he was, he would be finished in under two seconds. That meant more time to spend setting up tables and chairs for all the people coming. Not to mention James coming and making a stage with screen so the family videos could play. "Ok? Did you hear me?" Bella broke back from her thoughts and called out to Alyce once more.

"I heard you loud and clear, Bellz." Alyce responded, to busy checking the shampoo bottles. She had heard of what John did, and even though her hair was jet black, she didn't need a green tint to it. Bella had washed her hair for over an hour last night trying to get rid of the green in her blond hair. She finally got it out with some help from Alyce.

"Ok, so.......I'm going to leave now."

There was a moment of silence, Bella trying to tip toe out, before;

"You know you're making it painfully obvious that you're trying to leave with that get up on?"

Bella cursed under her breath. Next time she would get away with it, for now she had to pick another outfit.

"That's a good girl." Alyce laughed.

*

*

Pietro had finished hanging up streamers and lights. He had finished hiding Piotr's banners and had set up most of the tables and fancy chairs around the ballroom. All in under two seconds. So why was it so wrong that he wanted to steal a few kisses from his girlfriend? To Bella _everything_ was wrong. She claimed that someone could walk in at any moment and find them kissing. No one knew that there was even a ballroom in the Mansion. Who exactly could come walking in?

"Pietro......" Bella huffed, trying to fight the temptation to kiss Pietro. "We need to finish up with th---"

"Bella. Calm down!" He laughed. He gently cupped Bella's face in his hands and looked at her. "You know I could get things done here super quick. Just relax a little." Pietro smiled upon seeing Bella do the same. Her cheeks flushed red and he could feel her face grow hot. She was just too cute. It had been too long since they had time for themselves. Time without having to worry about something bad happening. It was good to relax.

"I'll be calm for just a little while...." Bella whispered, biting her lower lip and moving in closer to Pietro. She could smell is soft cologne, making her feel safe and warm almost instantly. She held onto his arms and wrapped them around her waist.

"Just a little while?" He smiled, gently placing his lips onto hers. He loved the long kisses she gave him. Every time she moved her lips, he could taste her lip gloss. Candied, almost fruity. It was a taste he associated her with and he loved it. They were to busy kissing and touching that they didn't hear the doors open to the ballroom. They didn't hear the food steps, the murmur of shocked awe at seeing the ballroom. They didn't hear......the lighter clicking......

Silence.

"SON OF A BITCH!" The sudden yell sending both Pietro and Bella jumping into each others arms. Both looked toward the door, scared that it would be Alyce, but instead there was John. His hands over his face and leaning on one of the tables. Immediately, Bella broke into a fit of laughter. John _always_ walked in on them some way or the other.

"What the fuck? Were you following us or something?" Pietro asked, marveling the same as Bella; on how John always found them.

"Can't a guy explore the Mansion he lives in?!" John answered, rubbing his eyes feverishly. Why was it always him? Always John Allerdyce to walk in on the two locking lips, or getting ready to do the deed. Why? Talk about bad karma. John was making it a point of his to not burn anything for a while.

"Stop being such a baby. How many times have I walked in on you and Alyce?" Bella asked, putting her hands on her hips. Pietro sighed. This was going to end up in one of their many fights. He took this as his queue to start finishing up the decorations. A sudden question popped into his head. Who was baking Alyce's cake?

"Bella, honey...I know you're busy but who is making Alyce's cake?"

Bella stopped mid step on her way to John, her fist ready to punch him. She turned on her heel and smiled. "Oh, Auntie Lilia is of course. She's making most of the food and Uncle James as well. It's going to be one hell of a big cake---"

"Like one hell of a big WALK IN!" John interrupted. He stood up from where he leaned on the table, shielding his body from a flurry of Bella's small punches.

Pietro had to wonder, as he saw the two begin to fight, were they related? They acted like brother and sister so much. Pietro would know. He couldn't stand being in the same room as his sister for more than a few minutes.

Talk about tough love.

____

A/N: Just wanted to let everyone know, Alyce's bday is coming up! Just one more chapter after this and PAR-TAY! (Did that sound cheesy? Yea it did.) lol.


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**; Pull Me Under

One day before his daughter's nineteenth birthday. James was nervous. He guessed it was the father jitters, seeing his little girl grow up so fast. Before he knew it she was probably going to start pushing him around in a wheel chair.

Over his dead body.

There was no way he would end up in a wheel chair any time soon. Fuck_ that_. James got out of his car and opened the door to the trunk, sighing at seeing all the stuff he needed to lug into the ballroom.

"Honey, make sure you don't slam the door of the trunk." Lilia yawned and got out of the passenger side of the car. She looked around the Mansion garage for any signs of life. They had driven out in the wee hours of the morning, just to get everything ready and set up. Then they would crash in one of the guest rooms. The next morning, their daughter's birthday, they would surprise her. Weren't they funky parents?

"Any of those snot nosed kids around? I don't want any of them seeing what I got for my kid." Suspiciously, James darted his eyes around the garage. He knew more than anyone that kids liked to hide in the garage to avoid going to classes. He used to do the same thing. He caught the eyes of his wife and she gave him a bland look.

"_Just get the stuff."_ The look read and she turned to the back seat to get out more decorations. James sighed and fished a pile of CD's from the trunk of his car. He placed them in a duffel bag and held them up to his wife with a grin on his face.

"Family Vids!" He beamed, making Lilia laugh, as he gathered more things from the trunk.

"You never get tired of seeing those, do you?" Lilia asked, looking at the lights of the garage with a dismay.

"Do you? I can never get tired of seeing Alyce's face when I scare the living shit out of her."

"The lights _are_ going to be a problem." Lilia murmured. "Do you think the Professor would mind if I 'turn them off'?"

James laughed. He loved how his wife thought. "That man is rich enough to buy more. Just turn 'em off. You seriously didn't think I was going to play mule and carry all this shit....did you?"

Lilia smirked and made her way toward James, dropping all the bags of decorations into his arms. "I was..." She laughed, seeing her husband scowl like a little child. She shrugged and sighed, immediately all the lights popping off. Soon, the entire garage lay in total darkness.

"This is why I love you." James' voice echoed in the dark. A kissing sound was heard and a giggle from Lilia and soon the two had completely disappeared.

*

*

You would think that living with people like James and Lilia would 'condition' you to certain types of things. It didn't. And it was _very_ apparent by the sounds of Bella screaming. She just wasn't expecting for things to start dropping out of the ceiling.

"Damn, Bella! Quiet down!" James whispered harshly as he settled him and his wife down on the floor. He picked up the bags that had fallen from his hands and threw a packet of balloons at his screaming niece. "Expect thee un---" He threw another pack of balloons. "--expected!" He huffed, with more emphasis on certain words as he continued to pelt his niece with soft objects.

Lilia couldn't help but laugh. Bella still not knowing what was going on. Feeling bad for having her share of laughs, Lilia stopped a packet of streamers that was headed for Bella's face. It hovered to the ground and Lilia made her way to her niece. "Your uncle....is a very bad man."

"'Ya think!?" Bella huffed, patting her chest where her heart beat twice as fast. "I didn't think you guys would come so early." Bella sighed and picked up a packet that James had thrown at her. She aimed at her laughing uncle and threw as hard as she could.

He caught it with ease and gave her a funny look. "You can't out master me, Bellz. We didn't think _you_ would be up so early."

"Yea, well..surprise." Bella rolled her eyes. "I've been busy setting up the small stuff. Pietro helped me set up the other things."

"Your white haired boyfriend?" James asked, knowing full well who the boy was. He just liked to pick on Bella. She shot him the finger and turned on her heel, helping her aunt gather the stuff from the floor and onto one of the many tables in the room. "Everything is set up and done, all we need is the screen for the movies and the food."

"No worries, it's all covered. How's Alyce doing anyway?" James asked, sitting on one of the tables and opening a pack of streamers. He was lucky it was still a bit dark outside, he could still use his powers for some more decoration.

"Alyce is as fine as ever. She's sleeping right now, not surprising." Bella chuckled.

"Oh yea, expect her to be sleeping until late noon. She does take up after her father." James smiled, feeling good that his daughter was just like him. He threw the streamers up into the air, black like swirls pushing them up to the ceiling and attaching them to the wall. "Why don't you two girls get something to eat? I'll finish up with my little demons."

"Are you sure?" Bella asked, looking at her Uncle as if he were a little kid. "Last year you said the exact same thing and they ruined everything."

"Hey! Don't talk about 'em like that. They love you, Bella. Don't hurt their feelings. Besides, it was _me_ who spiked the punch." James closed his eyes, reminiscing about Alyce's party last year. It involved a very drunk Bella and Alyce, the birthday cake and cereal. Don't ask.

"I have it on tape you know." James laughed.

"You have _everything_ on tape!" Bella semi laughed, a bit angry that James had caught her acting stupid. A bit angry that she knew he was definitely going to show it at the party.

*

*

Alyce wasn't so used to getting up early, but she had learned to deal with it. Anyone would have to deal if they had a cousin named Bella. She liked to do the most weirdest things in the morning. Alyce smiled at the thought of her cousin as she walked into the kitchen. Surprisingly, it was empty. It would be empty with the hour that it was. Letting out a death defying yawn, Alyce shuffled her way to the fridge and grabbed the gallon of milk. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and took everything back with her to one of the tables.

"Hungry, much?" Bobby asked, Alyce sitting down across from him.

"Mmhmmmm." She answered, clearly it was too early for anyone to have a proper conversation. She formed a spoon in her hand and dug into her cereal. She had gotten three spoonfuls in when she finally acknowledged Bobby. She chewed slowly, still sleepy. "Are you always up this early?" Alyce asked, shoveling another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

"Yea, weird isn't it?"

Alyce shrugged. She really didn't care. If he wanted to wake up at the crack of dawn then it was fine by her. She looked over to Bobby who was eating his bowl of cereal with the same concentration as her. Here she was, bonding over cereal with a guy who had worked for Emma Frost.

"So how's everything?" She asked, clearing her throat and drinking some milk out of her bowl. It was silent for a few minutes, both knew what Alyce was implying. Bobby looked at the cereal both on the table with a dismay.

"I can still hear_ her_ in my head....." Bobby sighed. He looked broken, terrified and at the same time strong. "You're the only one who still talks to me, really."

Alyce opened up the cereal box and poured herself another bowl. She stirred the cereal in with the milk and took another bite. "When everyone is done being stubborn, you'll have more than just me to talk with."

"I've done the best that I could, Alyce. I've apologized to everyone but they don't want to listen. I feel like I shouldn't be here anymore."

"Bobby." Alyce spoke, his eyes locking onto hers. "Look, I can't talk for them but for me I can. It's hard knowing that Emma had that grip over you. Sure, sometimes you can be a dick sometimes but you're strong. You being Emma's lap dog took everyone by surprise. No one was expecting the big bad leader of the teen X-Men to be swooned so easily....you get it?"

Bobby nodded. He still couldn't believe it either.

Alyce continued. "It weakened everyone as a team. Odd enough to say, but you kinda held everyone together as a team---"

"Even though I can kinda be a dick?"

Alyce smiled. "Even if you can kinda be a dick."

The two shared a laugh, continuing to eat their cereal. To Alyce it felt nice seeing Bobby laugh again. Sure the two didn't really like each other before but now it was different. They both had went through their share of problems and they both rised up out of it and back into their normal lives.

Finishing her cereal, Alyce plopped her spoon into her bowl and leaned her head in her hands. "Bobby Drake...." She murmured, giving him a genuine smile.

"Alyce Red?" He responding, waiting to hear what she had to say. He felt bad for judging her the way he did when she first came onto the team. It was a shame that it was talks like these that made him realize that. He hoped that in the future more heart to heart talks between them could happen. She had helped in ways she could probably never imagine.

"Don't worry about anything. It's going to be a nice day...and so is tomorrow and the day after....and the day after." Alyce gently patted his hand and picked up her bowl, walking to the sink. She would have to thank Bella later for giving her a heart. Had it been the old her, Alyce would've just got up and left as soon as Bobby opened his mouth. Or just not respond at all. Bella had taught her a lot.

Bobby turned in his chair watching Alyce and him too, grabbing his plate and taking it to the sink. He smiled as he got close to her and nudged her side gently. "You promise? Everything is really going to be fine?"

Alyce chuckled and wet her hand under the gushing water from the sink. She sprinkled a bit on Bobby and gave him a playful look. She patted his shoulder as she walked out of the kitchen, spinning on her heel as she got to the entrance. They shared another look, Bobby on the verge of laughing at how silly she was acting. In a way, he was thankful for that. She raised her right hand and slapped her other over her heart.

"I promise."


	65. Chapter 65

A/N: LONG chapter XD. Enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Happy Birthday Alyce!

*

Everyone was buzzing with excitement. The droning sounds of their voices creating a vibe of playful emotion and delight. A few students had long since migrated to the food and refreshments, eagerly gobbling down all the food Lilia had made. Others sat at their tables, talking casually and laughing. A few of them kept getting up every now and then to place either a card or a small box on one of the tables; 'The Present Table.'

Bella was actually very much surprised at the outcome. Originally she had thought it wouldn't be so packed, but from the looks of things it was like the entire school was packed into the Ballroom. It only made her more happy knowing that Alyce was liked by all these people. That in their own way they had interacted with her and liked her for who she was. She smiled at a few kids as she walked toward the juice bar, fixing her strapless silver dress. John had told her that she looked like a giant sparkly tuna fish. She thanked him and told him that he actually looked like a gentlemen. He had somewhat dressed up for the occasion. Bella made a mental note to take a picture of him....just to rub it in his face later on.

"Hey, Bella." Pietro smiled. He picked up a cup and poured her a mixture of juices. Lilia had given him the duty of manning the juice bar, because to her, he was a 'fine young gentleman with very good looks.' So far, most of the people coming up to him where girls and he didn't mind that at all. But the most beautiful one was already there with him.

"Awww, Pie. Don't you look so cute in your little tuxedo." Bella swooned, leaning over the table and placing a kiss on her boyfriends lips. She took the juice and sipped it.

"It's not a tuxedo, just a dress shirt. You're looking---" Pietro's green eyes looked over his girlfriend. "--_very_ beautiful." He chuckled seeing Bella blush. She flicked her hair in an exaggerated way and gave him a pose. He clapped and pretended to snap a picture. "So when's Alyce coming?"

Bella checked the silver watch on her wrist and sighed. "In about another half hour. I can't wait, I'm super nervous."

"Awww, don't be." Pietro made his way over to Bella and gave her a big hug. "Just make sure you get tons of pictures of her reaction face. I want to frame one that looks like this---" He pulled away from Bella and put on a silly face, his mouth open and his eyes closed tight.

"Whoa...." Bella chuckled, looking at her boyfriend. "Alyce's pervertedness must've _really_ gotten to me."

Pietro rolled his eyes and playfully punched his girlfriend on the arm. His girlfriend had been turning into a little pervert lately. He made a mental note to thank Alyce on giving Bella a new insight on things. It was too funny. "Hey, the Brotherhood is here you know."

"Really?!" Bella beamed, looking around. "I thought they weren't going to come until after."

"Same here, but they all got in the car. And they're all dressed up. Toad took a fucking shower. That right there, is like.....unbelievable." Pietro placed his hands on Bella's shoulders and spun her in the direction of where his friends sat. They sat exactly one table away from the X-Men, aside from Ave lip locked with Kitty, they all seemed fine with it. This had to be the first time Bella would ever meet them. She seemed excited enough and he was glad for that. She knew of Avalanche already but not of his sister or Fred.

"I'm going to go say hi."

Before Pietro could stop her (and warn her), she was already skipping off in her heels. He watched as she plopped herself down next to Fred and began saying hi to everyone. Even hugging them....Toad as well. She talked to them as if she knew them for ages, already laughing with them in the few seconds she had gotten to their table. Pietro felt a smile push on his face. This is why he loved Bella so much. She was so free spirited, nonjudgmental and caring. He got a bit nervous, Frederick touching her hair and smelling it. Would she get mad? He was making the choice to go over there but decided against it when Bella let out a laugh. She hugged Fred and ruffled the hair on his head. Pietro chuckled and turned back to continue serving the students.

"So I hear you're the one that's been dating my knuckle head brother." Wanda asked, with a smile on her face. She looked around for her purse, this being the third time she misplaced it. She wasn't a purse and dress girl but she decided today was ok. It was Alyce's birthday after all. She could deal with doing this once a year. She finally found it and took out a tube of lipstick.

"And I hear you're the incredible sister." Bella answered, watching as Wanda applied her lipstick and threw it back in her bag.

"Damn right." She leaned her head on her hand. "I don't know how you girls dress up like this all the time."

"It's an art." Bella laughed. "You'll get used to it, sooner or later."

"Later rather than sooner. When's my little Alyce getting here? I have my rings ready on my fingers to give her her birthday punches."

"She should be here in a little bit. Her Dad agreed to take her out so she would think nothing was being planned."

"Sounds good!" Wanda mused. Wanda turned around and glanced at the X-Team. While they were all having their fun, why not both groups? Wanda looked over to Bella, ready to say what was on her mind but the blond was already two steps ahead. She knew she was going to like talking to Bella. Her brother had finally picked a good girl. The pair got up from their seats and promptly ordered everyone to stand up. They pushed the tables together and both groups plopped back down in their seats.

"Now we're one big happy family!" Wanda sarcastically spoke. Bella laughed and made her way over to John, who was looking a big annoyed. The two groups began to talk, even Bobby. He had showed up on his own, but once Bella sat him the X-Group they all started chatting like nothing had ever happened.

"John you look cranky. Nothing new I suppose." Bella mocked him, sipping her juice. She raised her eye brows at him and got him to crack a small smile.

"Not cranky. I just want Alyce to hurry up and show up."

Bella swooned. "Awwww. You want to kiss her and hug her don't you?" She grew confused when John gave her a funny look. She raised her hands in defense, motioning for him to explain what he was waiting for.

"I just want to make fun of her when the family videos come up. Then....later on..._maybe_.....some hugs and kisses. But that isn't any of your business."

Bella smirked, holding back a chuckle. She wasn't going to question John's weird way of showing his love. She just found it funny at times, because she could tell he was trying to hold back a smile.

Bella broke out into laughter, getting up from her seat and making her way to another part of the ballroom. "I love you too, John."

*

*

The noise died down immediately once Lilia came rushing into the ballroom. She had told everyone mentality, using her powers, that Alyce was coming up the steps with James. And she was actually in a dress. Bella could _not_ believe it. Neither could anyone else on both the Brotherhood and X-Team. They all stood, wide eyed and opened mouthed waiting for Alyce to walk into the ballroom.

You could hear a pin drop as everything waited and soon, the voices of Alyce and James were heard.

"Dad...I look ridiculous."

"Shut up. You look fine. Now c'mon, you don't want to keep your mom waiting do you?"

Lilia jumped up and down and smiled, she turned off all the lights in the ballroom and cued Remy to get ready to turn on the sparkly happy birthday lights. The door was heard opening, a small flood of light entering the room. Lilia smiled, holding onto Logan's arm with anticipation.

"Dad, it's like super dark in he---"

"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted. Remy turned on the bright happy birthday lights, Alyce's face illuminating in awe and mock fear. When she finally realized what was going on, she clinged onto her father's arm and hid her blushing face.

Silence. Then;

"YOU LOOK _HOT_!" John shouted. Another wave of silence washed over the room, but soon everyone broke out into hysterics. Wolf whistling and cheering was heard and everyone began banging on the tables, chanting for Alyce to show off her figure in the dress.

James, on the verge of tears from laughter, grabbed his daughter by her shoulders and lead her into the middle of the room. Alyce just couldn't believe what was happening. She knew Bella might've had something planned, but never something so big. She shyly covered her face with her hands, hiding back her smile. She looked down at her shoes....she was actually wearing shoes. Heels to be exact. She can't believe she let her Dad talk her into wearing an outfit like this.

"Spin!" Everyone began to chant. "Spin, spin, spin!"

Alyce began to laugh, dropping her hands from her face causing everyone to cheer. She awkwardly did a little spin and everyone began to howl. Then the music turned on and the booming bass swallowed everyone's cheers.

"Happy Birthday!" Bella squealed, making her way toward her cousin and throwing herself into her arms. "You look awesome! Even though the dress _is_ black..."

"Leave the girl alone, Bellz." Pietro added in, coming over. He placed a kiss on Alyce's cheek and ruffled her hair.

"Hey! It has blue trim." Alyce defended herself, still smiling a big smile. "My hair is out of a ponytail, feel glad."

Bella gave Alyce a big kiss on the cheek and clung onto her once more before dragging her to everyone else on the teams. They were almost to the tables, when Alyce stumbled, tripping over her own heels. Luckily, Remy saved the say and scooped Alyce up off her feet and into his arms.

"_Mon cheri!_" Remy cooed, spinning Alyce around and giving her a tight hug. "Remy thinks you look stunning." He set Alyce back on the ground and cupped her face into his hands. He placed a small kiss on her forehead.

"You're getting Rogue jealous." Alyce chuckled, pulling Rogue over to her and Remy and giving her a big hug.

"Oh please, Alyce. 'Ah can't get jealous at 'ya. Happy Birthday!" The two girls hugged once more, before Remy pulled Rogue over to him and placed a steamy hot kiss on her lips. They pulled apart quickly, Remy looking a bit light headed.

"Take it easy there, hot shot." Alyce warned Remy. "Someone is being a little too sexy." She addressed to Rogue, making the Southern Belle giggle. Before Alyce got a few steps away, she was enveloped into another hug. This time by Piotr.

"Simply beautiful." Piotr blushed, taking Alyce's hand and giving her a small kiss on her knuckles. "How do you like the banners?" He asked, showing Alyce all the art work he did and waiting to hear her response.

"I knew you did 'em as soon as I walked in. You just want me to say that you win our little art contest, don't you?" Alyce asked, looking at Piotr at crossing her arms over her chest.

"That would be nice, yes." A smug smile on Piotr's face, something Alyce hadn't seen before. She laughed.

"Ok ok. All hail King Piotr, for finally beating me in art. Happy?" She did a mock bow, pretending to place a crown on his head.

"Happy enough." The Russian beamed and pulled Alyce into another hug.

"I got you something that I know you're going to like. Open it later?" He mumbled into her ear.

"Of course, Piotr---" Alyce nodded and patted Piotr on the chest. "-- and by the way you're looking beautiful yourself." Alyce was still feeling a bit shy, but it wasn't like she was around strangers. She was around her friends....her family.

"Everyone is looking beautiful." Came another voice next to Piotr. There, with her brown hair flowing free and cute red lip stick was Kitty Pryde. She gave Alyce a hug. "You look good in a dress and heels. You should do it more often. I'll even take you shopping to get some new ones."

Alyce smiled wearily and shared a concerned look with Piotr. "_You are a girl."_ His face read. He patted Alyce's shoulder and made his way back to the table, breaking out into laughter. Alyce would get him back sooner or later. "I think I'm ok in the dress department."

"If you say so, all the boys think you look smokin'." Kitty playfully nudged Alyce on her side and went back to her seat, once more locking lips with Avalanche.

Alyce spotted John, patiently waiting. He leaned on the table, half sitting on it, and waved at her. It was a miracle he was even waiting for her to get him, usually he would just pull her towards him and that was that. But there was a softness in his face, a calmness about his demeanor that took Alyce by surprise. She gave him a questioning look and he laughed, pointing to Jubilee and Bobby, who were making their way toward her.

"Alyce!" Bobby exclaimed, placing a quick kiss on her cheek and giving her a small hug.

"Hey, Bobette." She joked. "How 'ya feeling?" After their small conversation the other day, Bobby did seem more calm. It looked like he was back to his old self, with something extra.......that being Jubilee. She could tell right off the bat as soon as they walked up to her that they were going out.

"I'm great Alyce. You held up to your promise." He smiled shyly and wrapped his arm over Jubilee's shoulder. "I'm feeling awesome."

"That's great to hear." Alyce gave him a thumbs up and patted Jubilee on the shoulder. "It's about time Bobby be put through some challenges." She spoke to Jubilee quietly and the two chuckled. She said her good-byes to them and made her way toward John, immediately hugging him.

"Happy Birthday." He cooed, snuggling her and placing a kiss on her lips. Already, Alyce could feel the heat in her cheeks.

"Don't get all mushy with me now." Alyce quietly spoke, giving him another kiss.

John laughed, looking just as flushed as she. Ladies and Gentlemen—John _does_ have a heart. "I'm not getting mushy." He answered, straighting himself up and giving her a firmer, tighter hug. "I'm just saying Happy Birthday."

"Hey, hey, that's Happy Fucking Birthday to you." Alyce shook her finger at him, and he grabbed her hand, pulling her in and biting at her neck. Her laughter filled the air as John held her tight against him, not letting her budge until he was done 'tickling' her. "Ok, ok! You win." She huffed, John stopping and placing a small kiss on her neck.

"I better fuckin' win." Was all he said as he let her go. He fumbled with something on his neck and in his hands was a small silver chain. Attached to it, was a small circular disc, engraved with the figure of a woman. "Take it." He motioned, obviously not good with giving gifts.

"What is it?" Alyce asked, looking at John with question as she cupped her hands underneath the chain. He laughed and brought the chain up over her head and let it go. It fell down onto her neck, the small silver circle hanging at the nape of her neck.

"I'm not good with this sorta thing...." He scratched his head. "I've had that since I was little. Just take care of it. It's yours."

Alyce smiled, taking the small pendant in her fingers and rubbing it. "Thanks.....thank you John." They looked at each other, smiled and gave each other another kiss. They had their moment and right now to John that was enough. He knew Alyce was happy.

"Time to party." John grinned and plastered a messy kiss on Alyce's cheek. He hurriedly picked up his cup from the table. "Your Dad is awesome---" He mumbled. "---he spiked the punch."

Alyce watched as John ran off, pinching the bridge of her nose as she caught her Dad's playful eye. The Professor must've really liked James as a kid or something to let him spike the punch, and get about 100+ kids drunk.

It was going to be one of _those_ nights.

"Little ALYCE!" Wanda's voiced boomed over the music. She made her way over to Alyce, cup in hand (no doubt James' spiked punch) and gave Alyce a big hug. "Everyone is giving you all these hugs...I had to jump on the band wagon."

"With that dress you're totally on the band wagon." Alyce laughed.

"You, too. You too. It's been AGES! Goddamn!" Wanda plopped her cup on the table and immediately grabbed Alyce into a head lock. Alyce had seen this coming a mile away. She quickly transformed her shoes into a pair of sneakers and wrestled her way out of Wanda's grip.

"I see you're still as fiesty as ever." Alyce joked, giving Wanda a punch to the arm.

"'Ya damn right, sweetheart. I missed 'ya. You and your pretty blue eyes." Wanda held up her hand, motioning to the rings on each finger. For Alyce that only meant one thing. Birthday Punches. For a second, she thought about running. But she knew Wanda would catch her eventually. She sighed and rolled her eyes, bracing herself for impact as Wanda creeped closer to dish out her punches.

"And a----one!" Wanda cocked back her fist and Alyce flinched......

What she wasn't expecting, was the soft punch that touched her arm. Opening her eyes, Alyce gave Wanda a stupid look. "What?" Alyce laughed, trying to figure out what the whole show was about.

"You really thought I was gunna hit my little girl?! Nawww, I love you too much."

"Fred loves Alyce TOO!"

"Ugh. Frederick." Wanda rolled her eyes. She picked up her cup and took another sip. "I'mma go flirt with some of those delicious looking boys over there." Wanda gave Alyce an impish grin. She placed a kiss on Alyce's cheek and she was off to do her thing.

"'Sup, yo. Happy Birthday."

"Holy shit.....Toad...did you shower?!" Alyce asked, amazed. She hugged Fred and placed a small kiss on his cheek, the big man smiling and blushing. Toad hopped onto a nearby table and scratched the back of his head.

"Yea man. Does the body good once n' a while. I think I'm allergic to soap, yo." He scratched his head some more and looked at what had collected underneath his finger nails. "Yea, it's official. Allergic."

Alyce felt a shudder run through her body, but she still went up to Toad and gave him a hug. (Which very much surprised him.) They were about to talk about the wonders of Ivory soap when the music turned off and the loud screech of the microphone turned on.

"Ahem....'scuse me?" James' voice echoed. "Yo...I see you two making out over there...." He pointed over to Kitty and Avalanche and the room chuckled. "Ok, they stopped. Now! I know _everyone_ has been waiting for this......"

"Oh...._no._" Alyce grumbled, shaking her head in shame as Bella came up to her. "He's doing _it_ isn't he." Alyce asked her cousin, who seemed just as equally filled with dread.

"He is....." Bella sighed. "The James Chainsaw Massacre and _everything_."

"---so yea....sit back and enjoy. Alyce, honey, I know you're going to hate me......you too Bella....but c'mon! This stuff is _way_ too funny to _not_ be shown."

*

*

The camera was shaky, obviously because of the muffled laughter—brought to you by Lilia. She zoomed down the hallway of the house, James trying hard not to laugh. He made his way close to the camera and looked at his watch.

"Ok..it's like, two in the morning and guess who decided to stay up watching scary movies?"

Lilia began laughing, the camera shaking, the focus now on the solid wood floor. The pair giggled, acting more like bubbly teens than actual parents. "James, honey, this is just wrong." Lilia aims the camera back at her husband, watching as he forms a mini chainsaw in his hands. "Babe...c'mon."

"What?!" He whispers harshly. "I have powers and I'm using 'em for my advantage. You know you wanna catch them screaming like little babies."

Suddenly, a door opens, and the camera looses focus as both James and Lilia hide behind the couch. Slowly, Lilia aims the camera and it catches Alyce.

A thirteen year old Alyce and behind her, clinged to her back was an eleven year old Bella. Both of their faces, scared of the dark and it was taking everything in Lilia's body to not burst out laughing.

"Alyce....can you make me strawberry milk?" Bella squeaked, looking over her shoulder nervously. "I'm scared."

"Don't worry, Bella. I'll make it." Quickly, Alyce took out the milk from the fridge and placed it on the counter, taking out the strawberry powder and mixing the concoction together for her younger cousin. Bella drank it so fast, she had spilt some of it on her shirt. She wiped her mouth and handed the cup over to Alyce who threw it in the sink. She grabbed a bottle of water and the two of them made their way back to their bedroom.

"Oh _man_!" James snickered, holding onto Lilia's shoulder and burying his face into her neck. "This is going to be nice." He nodded to his wife, who shook the camera and the two made their way, slowly, to Alyce's room. Quietly James opened the door a crack, his very real chainsaw in front of him. He motioned for Lilia to come close and she zoomed in on Alyce and Bella. Both of them huddled on the bed, hugging each other, the movie playing illuminating their faces.

James held out his hand to the camera, counting down from five with his fingers. He hadn't even lowered his hand when he bursted into the room, revving his chainsaw in the air and laughing manically. Immediately, a loud screech was heard, both girls screaming at the tops of their lungs. Bella had literally flew off the bed, slamming into the floor with all the blankets. Alyce had jumped up, falling over the side of her bed but immediately getting up and throwing her water bottle at her father.

"Whoa! Retaliation!" James spoke, already in a heap of giggles. The chainsaw morphed out of his hands and disappeared as he fell over on his knees, red in the face from laughing. Lilia, also in giggles, had dropped the camera on the floor and it was now aimed at the crying Bella, who held her hands up for Alyce to come get her.

"Ah—ahhhh!!!" James mimicked the screams, now holding his sides. "Classic, classic!"

The camera catches Alyce hug onto Bella, her face red but still smiling and then....it shuts off.

*

*

"Holy CRAP!" John hooted, everyone in laughter. The only people not laughing, of course, were Alyce and Bella. "Vroom Vroom!" John mocked to Alyce, pretending to rev up an invisible chainsaw.

"And can we get a round of applause for our two lovely leading ladies!" James laughed into the microphone, motioning for Bella and Alyce to get on the small make shift stage. As much as they didn't want to, they agreed and the cheers from everyone in the crowd grew louder. Alyce punched her Dad in the arm and so did Bella but they all laughed it off and hugged one another.

"Ok ok, more videos later. Right now it's time to sing happy birthday."

Everyone clapped and whistled. Oddly, Remy walked up onto the stage, finishing off whatever was in his cup and taking the microphone from James. He plopped kisses on both Alyce and Bella and cleared his throat. He shook his head, trying to stop everything from spinning. He began to start singing but stopped, clearing his throat once more.

"_Mon Ami_.....Remy is _drunk_."

James laughed and took the microphone from Remy. "Ladies and Gents the drunk Cajin'!" Laughter was heard before someone else walked up on stage. She nabbed the phone from James and let out a rawr, pulling up a chair and standing on top of it.

"_Oye!" _The voice spoke, booming loud. "O.k 'ya lil' fuckers....Charlie is here and she's gunna sing!"

Charlie Pennington. In the flesh. Probably the best thing to appear at this party since the spiked punch. Everyone rooted, chanting her name, causing Charlie to give everyone a wicked smile.

She winked over at Alyce and took in a deep breath, fixing her hair. "Everyone---you guys better fuckin' sing---Happy Birthday to YOU!" Charlie screamed into the microphone and everyone followed. As everyone sang, Charlie hopped off the chair and pointed to James.

"Bring out the cake, Daddy-O!" She hopped back up on the chair and continued singing, even getting Ray on stage and doing a mini duet. Her birthday was complete, Alyce thought as she laughed at Charlie singing about on stage. A big cake was rolled onto the stage and a small candle was lit on top.

"Get ready to make a wish!" Bella chimed, hugging onto Alyce and sneaking a bit of the frosting onto her finger and into her mouth.

Alyce smiled, patting her hot cheeks with her hands. Everything was just so surreal and....perfect. Everyone was happy, there was nothing wrong and here in front of her was the biggest cake she had seen in her life.

"Blow out those fuckin' candles, _chica!_" Charlie yelled and pointed to Alyce.

Giving Charlie a thumbs up, Alyce leaned in toward the cake and huffed up a ton of air. She was about ready to blow out her candles, when a hand slapped in the back of her head and mushed her face into the cake.

"_Conyo_, talk about Happy Birthday." Charlie laughed as she watched James stuff his daughters' face into the mountain of cake. "Hey! Hey! I see 'ya lil' twerps thinks my singin' is over. IT'S NOT! FEEL THE WRATH!" Charlie broke out into another song, jumping onto a nearby table and scaring a couple of the kids.

A few people began popping mini fire crackers in the ballroom, some throwing streamers into the air and others popping balloons. Alyce had everything she thought she could've had at a party, and then some. Everyone on the X-Team was happy. Bobby Drake had his new girlfriend and was talking to everyone again. Bella, going strong with Pietro as was Alyce with John. Rogue with Remy, Avalanche with Kitty. Both Lilia and Jean were calm, knowing now that Emma was for good out of the picture. The Professor, even though half of the kids were drunk, couldn't help but smile at how much fun everyone was having.

Alyce with her face covered in cake. James getting pushed into the cake by both Alyce and Bella.

Cake..._everywhere._

Oh yea. It was a Happy Birthday.

______

A/N: WOOHOO! To all readers; NEW STORY! ( I plan ahead) I have the idea down and a few chapters already planned out. So stay tuned for~ The Mad Happenings! Starring everyone's favourite unlikely duo; Alyce and Bella!


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